Insanity Breach
by kisa sohma cookie
Summary: Have you ever wondered what it takes to be an animator, and tell a worthwhile story while also keep the Cartoon characters themselves entertained? Jessie, a young intern at Warner Brothers is about to find out first hand. Fail summery is fail. Way better on the inside, i promise XD
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there! (waves) This is my first Looney Tunes fic, so im new around these parts. I'm hoping I can do the characters justice, but if you have any advice for me, id be most appreciative.**

**First things first, I'd like to say that in reality, I really am an Animations student, and this fic actually started out as a show I'd like to do later in life along the same premise. After talking to my friend 'A Scribbler' She convinced me to try writing it as a fic first to see how people responded to the idea. It's at least a little original right?**

**Also, I don't know if you've ever read the Animaniacs fanfic 'Reality check' also by my friend 'A Scribbler'. This is one of the most amazing Animaniacs fics I've ever had the pleasure to read, as well as 'Family' by 'The Middle Warner Sibling'. I owe both authors a big thank you for treating us to such great stories and helping me learn what makes a good story. They both have inspired me so much so I highly recommend you read both stories when you get the chance. **

**As a side note, me and 'A Scribbler' are planning a crossover between Reality Check and Insanity Breach, so there will be some allusions to the story in mine as its taking place around two years after, a little after Reality Check 2: Insktained takes place. So I recommend once you get done here, you read that too.**

**Alright, I'm done yakking, enjoy the chapter please!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Looney Tunes.**

Jessie's POV

So, you want to know what it's like to be an animator huh?

Well, I'm still learning myself, so I can't give you the professional opinion you'd probably like more. But I'm the only one here right now, so I guess you'll have to deal.

I can give you some firsthand advice though, from my own experiences with my…rather unique mentor.

Everything I've learned, everything I've done in the past few months I give credit (and blame) him for. But I'll warn you, this story isn't exactly 'the norm' it's gonna twist around everything you think is normal, and everything you think is strange and spit it back out into one big package so you can't even tell the difference anymore.

That, among other things, is what it means to be an animator.

But I'll get into that later, if you've read this far, I'm going to assume you're gonna stick around to hear my side of things. So there's some things you should know

My name is Jessie, I'm an animation intern at Warner brothers studios, and this is a first hand account of my slow decent into madness at the hands of a smug, carrot loving, Hare.

/

The California sun beat down on the back of my neck as I fumbled in my jean pocket for my keys. Even though it was technically January, it was still warmer than what I'm used to for a winter month. Growing up in the north on the east coast will do that to a person.

I couldn't help but miss the snow as I ran my tongue over my lips in concentration, opening the door to the apartment building I had just returned to for my second semester of my Freshman year of college. My throat was already parched in the dry air, but at least it wasn't humid. Gross.

I pushed the door open and slung my duffle over my shoulder, heaving both of my other suitcases up the stairs and closing the door behind me. That left me with three flights of stairs to climb before I'd reach the floor I lived on. I steeled myself and grabbed one, promising myself a tall glass of iced tea from the gas station next store once I was done. By the time I had gotten both up the stairs, and unpacked, I was too tired to follow through with that promise. I flopped onto my bed face first. I could forgive myself this once, I was tired.

My quilt made a faint 'poof' sound, unused to being laid on after I had been away for the winter vacation. A month and a half since I had been here, despite the heat I had really missed it. And as much as I loved my family, I had missed my freedom.

The blanket was obstructing my need to breath, so I rolled onto my back, staring up at the ceiling and walls so we could get reacquainted. I smiled at the familiar characters on my posters staring back at me. Apart from the photographs of my family and dog on my corkboard bulletin on the side, every one of them was of a cartoon or anime. That had gotten me a few odd looks from my now vacated roommate. The girl had spent most of the first semester either passed out on the couch, or out with her friends, only coming back to change and bring back with her a faint musk of whatever weed they had decided to smoke that night. I wouldn't complain as long as she didn't do it in the room. It was an art school, I wasn't gonna try and tell people how to live their life. She was a nice girl but I couldn't say her presence was particularly missed, mostly cuz I never really talked to her anyway.

But I digress, now the other half of the room was bare, and until the school found some other kid to stick with me, I had some walls to cover, I couldn't leave the room half naked, now could I?

As I strode across the tiled floor with my bare feet, I faltered when I realized she had forgotten the full length mirror she hung on the back of the door. My reflection looked back, not exactly disgruntled, but not exactly thrilled either.

I ran a hand through the hair I had left on my head. To begin with I had short hair that hung a few inches above my shoulders. It wasn't curly or wavy, but it wasn't exactly straight either. It kind stuck up at odd angles like a fledglings, and always looked messy, but in a sort of attractive way, I have to admit. Pink, blue and yellow streaks peaked through the light brown tresses. Last semester I had shaved the other half of my head, like I had seen a few other girls do. I thought the style looked cool, and hey, I'm in college, this is the time to experiment and express myself. Who cared if it wasn't 'in the norm'

My eyes traveled downwards to see the rest of me which I admittedly wasn't as proud of. I was chubby, maybe 60-70 pounds overweight. The good thing was that I was tall for my age, so it kinda almost balanced itself out. It was still noticeable, but y'know, life is short. Eat a taco ad have a slice of cake and enjoy yourself. If people got a problem with that, Haters gonna hate.

Mom had told me several times I had a 'endearingly eclectic style' Today my outfit was mismatched stockings of stripes and polka dots, along with my converse and some purple legwarmers. Along with that I had a jean skort on, slightly frayed at the edges, and a purple tank, covered by an orange over shirt with the sleeves rolled up to my elbows because of the heat. It was a funky outfit, but I liked it because it did a good job of quieting down another detail about my body I was a little more sensitive about.

I am a huge nerd, but my point is that there was more to me than that.

I shrugged, turning away from my reflection and carrying on. I found that there are a lot more interesting things to look at than myself.

After a few minutes I pulled out my laptop and logged onto Skype, expecting to get a video chat from my dad soon. He had warned me he was gonna try to call around the estimated time I would arrive. No sooner than I was pinning up a new ninja turtles poster, that I heard the familiar chime of someone trying to call. I reached over to accept it.

"Hey Dad." I greeted, grinning at the familiar face.

I love both of my parents, a lot. But my dad was, always had, and always will be my best Bud. He was like a big kid himself.

I remember watching cartoons sitting on his lap on Saturday mornings, or when I was sick from school. He raised me on classics, such as Looney Tunes and Thundercats, as well as exploring new ground that Disney or nicktoons, or Kids WB would come out with. Looney tunes would always be my favorite to watch with him though. I think it made him happy to watch something with me that he used to watch as a kid too. He also got a lot more of the obscure jokes of that time and would explain most of them to me if I didn't get it at first.

He smiled back at me, leaning back in his computer chair so I could see him better. Even now I could see a poster of The Looney Tunes hanging in the

"How ya doin kid." He said back, peering into the screen to try and get another look at my room.

"Just getting unpacked, breaking in the fresh meat," I held up one of the posters he had gotten me for Christmas and he laughed.

"Glad to see you made it through the flight okay…can't say I'm not a little disappointed though. Part of me wanted you to come running back through that terminal and grab my hand and demand I come with you, like you would when you were little."

I rolled my eyes, "I'm a big girl dad, and-"

"And this is your time. I know." He cut me off good-naturedly, even though I was gonna say that people would ask questions about a 40-soemthing year old going to art school when he was clearly the scholarly type. Dad was an editor for a paper, and an English teacher in a private high school. One I thankfully didn't have to go to.

"It's just I can't help feeling a little jealous. Seeing you all excited to go and explore the world makes me want to go back to college too, you know make a fresh start." He said. I raised my eyebrow and cocked my head to the side questioningly. Dad sounded…different. A little more wistful and out of it than he normally was.

"Why? What's wrong with your life now? Are you having money worries again?" I asked, examining my father a little more. Come to think of it, everything about him seemed off at the moment, I remember noticing it on a lesser scale over vacation. He was pale, and….he looked old. I mean yeah he was getting older as I was but before now he had seemed to be doing it gracefully, still possessing a sort of childlike glow to him. But now he seemed just seemed tired, like Father time had decided to drop a 100 years under his eyes.

"Dad talk to me is everything okay?" I said, getting a bit worried. He shook his head though, and waved his hand negatively. A good sign that he was clamming up on the subject and wouldn't go into it further. Dang, I had it when he did that.

"It's nothing, adult problems darling, nothing you need or should be worrying about."

"I'm an adult too, or did you forget." I grumbled under my breath reproachfully and he gave me a half smile.

"Stubborn as a mule, just like always….I miss you already, little girl." He said, staring at me sincerely and I felt my minor annoyance soften.

"Miss you too." I said back, giving him a smile. "It'll b summer break before you know it, and we'll still talk on skype."

"and I want weekly reports. I need to see the latest master piece whenever it should come about, "He said dramatically and I snorted, "Speaking of which, you said before you left that this semester was when you were going to do your internship."

I brightened, I had been dreaming of being an animator since my freshman year of high school after realizing I could actually make drawing random characters and creating stories for them a job. So I had come to a big-name college in California, where most of the big name studios could potentially notice me. And if I gave a good interview with my counselor, that would up my chances of scoring an internship with one of those big-name studios. Do that math here, if I did an internship and they liked me, it meant a good chance of having a job when I was out of school.

"Yeah, I'm meeting with my counselor tomorrow. I still need to sort through the questions she told me I should be ready for."

Dad grinned, excited for me. It seemed to make a little of his paleness go away, but not completely, "I won't keep you then. Take it easy Kid, try not to work yourself too hard while you're there. Remember to have fun too….but not too much fun." He said sternly.

I smirked, waving a hand dismissively, "Don't worry, half the guys here are either gay, or boring."

"That's my girl. I miss you, and love you."

"Love you too." I said, giving him one last smile before disconnecting the call. His sick pallor still worried me a little, but I also knew I was prone to worrying about nothing, so I tried to push it away for now.

I had other things I needed to concentrate on.

/Regular POV

Mel Hardaway had been in the animation business for nearly 27 years, and had worked for Warner brothers for even longer. He had been involved in countless projects, whether he was actually assigned to it or not. Sometimes, his fellow animators just wanted his advice, a second opinion. With his clear stance as a patriarch with the warner brothers company, it made sense for him to be present when the Animation board met to discuss new possible recruits.

The Man yawned in the plush office chair he was situated in, Fiddling with his cap and scratching at his beard. Dull, the same type of dull he had seen last month, and the month before that. The same, readymade, pre-trained animators with some freelance experience hoping to make their dreams come true. Mel didn't fault them for that, and some of them actually did have talent. It was just….there was no spark, no adventure like there used to be.

As his fellow board members chatted over a picture and interview of some guy that Disney had passed along to them, Mel took a sip of his coffee. He noted that somehow it too seemed frightfully dull than normal as he browsed through the twenty something other applications. All neat and white and fresh pressed and ready to be accepted. Same thing as always..

That was when his hand bumped into something on the very bottom of the pile, it crinkled uncertainly at the meeting, and he moved the other applications out of the way.

There was a little brown package, considerably less confident looking than its peers. The address to the studio's P.O box number was scrawled messily, as if rushed, on the front. And right on top, in parenthesis was his name "Mel"

Curious, the man took the package and opened it without a word of warning to his fellow employers, after all, the package was addressed to him. He pulled out a crumpled note first, as well as a small flash drive, and other information collected in a large stack. He read the note first

_Mel,_

_I know that Warner Brothers hasn't taken on any 'greenhorns' for some time now, but I remembered how you always told me that you looked for a 'spark' and well, I think I found one. She certainly has a spark of her own anyways. So I sent you a few pieces from her portfolio as well as her resume, and a recording of our interview. She's looking for an internship, as required for all our students. I hoped that maybe it couldn't hurt to send her your way at first. I figured the best way for you to determine if she has the right stuff or not is to hear her answers for yourself. _

_Your friend_

_Elaine_

Mel smiled, Elaine and him went way back. They'd been friends in college and remained that even now that he was a big wig animator and she a professor at a local art college that happened to produce some of the most successful artist in the country. If Elaine thought that highly of this girl, then he had no choice but to listen to her. Heck with the day he was having if an alien was applying he's listen.

He pulled out the USB and plugged it into his laptop, which until now had laid forgotten at his side. He inserted his ear buds and sat down and listened, ignoring the curious looks his partners were giving him.

The interview couldn't have been more than ten minutes long, Elaine never like to beat around the bush. She liked to give concise, to the point questions that mattered, and it appeared this Jessie Verillo thought around the same lines. Her answers were sincere, and thoughtful, and she wasn't nervous like most kids her age would be discussing a potential internship. She was casual, treating the important meeting like it was a normal conversation between friends. That must have earned Elaine's respect, it certainly won his.

By the time they had gotten to the last question, Mel had a goofy looking grin on his face with anticipation.

"Alright Jessie, just one more question. If you could pic where you would have your internship, where would it be and why?" Elaine's voice asked. Mel smirked when he heard Jessie make a disgruntled raspberry sound,

"That's the hardest question you've asked so far, jeez," Jessie laughed, "To be honest it's hard to say. I don't wanna say anywhere specific so I don't insult anyone, but I think it would have to be someplace where they'd be willing to let me experiment, really get a feel for what kind of animator I want to be, and what kind of stories I want to tell. As you can probably tell from my sketches, my focuses are kinda sporadic-heh,"

It was true, Mel mused as he flipped through a few of them. She had everything from goofy looking Saturday morning esque characters to serious and well proportioned characters scowling back at him.

"But I think as long as I can explore and have pad of paper and pencil with me, I'd be happy anywhere. I don't really want safe, I've been safe for the past20 years back home in new England. I'm out of the nest now and want adventure, test out my wings yknow? Heh, that sounded so corny it's not even funny.."

And the audio cut off. Mel smiled, _Adventure huh?_ He thought to himself bemusedly, _Let's see if I can make that happen._

Feeling a familiar tingle of excitement start in his fingertips and shoot up to his brain, Mel stood and cleared his throat, though it wasn't really necessary. The room had already been staring at him as he grinned or laughed at the recording he'd heard, browsing through some papers that had so many doodles on them the paper was wrinkles slightly.

"I think I found someone" He said cheerfully. He had to approach this carefully. What Elaine had said was true, Warner brothers hadn't hired animators, let alone students, for a long time. Nearly ten years in fact. Up until two years ago, the CEO of Warner brothers had forbidden to have any inexperienced faculty come to be employed. So they would hire or recruit animators who had spent their training days at Disney or DreamWorks. The dregs, leftovers, people who no longer needed to Explore and come up with something new like Jessie did. They just sat and drew the pictures they were told to. They drew them very well, true, and the pictures came out like gold. But there was no excitement to it.

And any applications like Jessies they did get, would be shooed away to Disney or some other studio for their training, and by the time they got back, whatever 'spark' they may have had would be gone. Mel knew that would not only be a diservie to do to Warner brothers now, but also to Jessie.

But now Warner Brothers had a much more lenient (less psychotic) CEO, and Mel thought it was high time they had a change of scenery.

"Alright Mel, lets see it." A woman in a blue business suit held her hand out to see the file, and Mel handed her work to her, "What's her name?"

"Jessica Verillo."

"She certainly has potential," the woman said offhandedly and her associates murmured in agreement around her, "How old is she?"

_Uh oh, _"She's a freshman in college."

They all froze in time, it would have been comedic if Mel hadn't felt the need to go on the defensive.

"I do like the look of her work Mel, but perhaps it would be better if we send her on to Disney for a few years until her schooling is over, and then she can try again."

Mel planted his hands on the desk, "Why? She's not looking to be paid, Annie, she's looking for an internship. To learn. And She wants to learn from us"

It wasn't a lie, she did want to learn, from someone, and her file had been sent to them.

The woman, Annie, and several of the other members of the board looked uncomfortable. Perhaps even a little frightened.

"Mel, have you forgotten what happened two years ago? The incident with 'The animator' and the 'deanimator'. We were lucky to cover our tracks then. Bringing in someone who isn't experienced with this line of work…it's too dangerous. I'm sorry but-"

Mel stood up to his full height and glared down at her, knowing he was probably acting like a spoiled child who wasn't getting his way. H happened to feel his mood was justified though,

"For god sake, that's why we have Confidentiality contracts! When are you people going to stop hiding in the ground and open your minds to knew things, like the good old days! Yeah we've made handsome work, but it's never the same raw experience! Telling the same stories over and over again, that's all we've been doing the past ten years, and I'm sick of it! And I know the audiences out there are probably sick of it!" Mel finished, taking off his cap and running a hand through his hair, ignoring the abashed looking associates of his.

Annie was the first to recover, smoothing her blazer and steepleing her fingers in front of her, "Say we do take this girl's application for an internship. Who would act as her mentor?"

Mel grinned in his usual boyish way that usually had the other animators worried. It usually meant he was going to spring something really unexpected ont hem.

"She's gonna learn the same way I did, I've already got a few in mind-"

"Mel, no one's been taught…that way… for years! Not since you!-"

"And there hasn't been an animator exactly like me for some time now. Has there?" He said quietly. He didn't like to flash around his skill like that, but in this case he had to. For the sake of the studio.

Annie was silent, and he knew he got her there. He folded his arms.

"Look, if I gotta pull rank on this one, I will. I've been here longer than any of you, I'll draw up the contract myself, I'll talk to Jack.." At the continuing looks of doubt he was met with, Mel struck gold "I'll act as her 'mentor' when in the public. If any of these 'dirty little secrets' you guys are so paranoid about get out, any at all, the blame will fall on me."

Immediately the other members of the board perked up, and he rolled his eyes. Cowards.

Annie pursed her lips like she was eating something sour, before finally sighing in defeat.

"Fine Mel, Call who you want. But remember, if it falls apart, it falls on your shoulders."

"yeah-huh," Mel said dismissively, already gathering his belongings and hitting speed dial n his phone. He excited the room cradling the phone in his shoulder, shrugging on his jacket and shoulder bag as he waited for it to pick up,

"Hello? Yeah it's me," Mel said grinning at the voice on the other end, "Remember how you told me you were missing the old days at the studios? Well get ready for a trip to the past."

He paused as he waited for the elevator, listening to the unknown persons questions, "Yeah, I found a new kid. She's got talent, still rough, but with some polishing…Yeah 'spark' exactly what I said. I'll fax you the info. I think you two would get along, she's a real spitfire. Should prove interesting. So what d'you say? Wanna be a mentor?"

There was a pause, and Mel laughed, "I'm don't know, but I'm sure with some persuasion she could learn to like carrots, 'doc'"

/

Jessie's POV

I bit my lip to keep from beaming like an idiot as the bus pulled up to the gates of Warner Brother studio. Woah….just woah. Never had I thought I'd actually get to intern a place with as huge a name as that. Elaine had pulled me aside and told me that the last time a student had been accepted there was over a decade ago. Eesh, no pressure right?

My stomach was in knots and I was hard-pressed to keep from skipping down the steps of the bus. Waiting for me at the gate was a guard, and next to him, a guy wearing a name tag saying 'Mel'. My mentor.

We exchanged pleasantries and introductions, and he set about giving me a brief tour of the lot. I felt a bit stars struck, so I didn't pay attention to a lot of it, just sort of smiling and nodding. Until of course we got to the animation studio.

I grinned, trying to take every detail in and memorize it. A real animation studio! This was where I had been dreaming to work for years! And here I was, living the dream. And unpaid dream, but at this point I didn't care if I had to live in a cardboard box if I could just study here.

Finally we came to a door that led to a classroom sized room filled with tons of animation equipment as well as a desk with ever tool needed to make hand drawn animation, as well as a computer for digital. My god it was like Christmas. My lip was almost bleeding I was biting it so much.

Mel laughed, "I take it your excited to get started?"

My head bobbed dup and down so fast I must have looked like I drank half a tank of coffee. I'm such a dork.

Mel laughed again and waved me into the room a little more, "Then I should probably introduce you to who's _really_ going to be teaching you the ropes. Wait here."

…..Huh?

More than a bit confused, I didn't see what else I could do but lean against a desk and wait. If Mel wasn't my mentor then who the heck was…should I be worried? Should I find that pepper spray my brother snuck into my purse before I left home.

Nah, better not. Now was n time to get paranoid. And if it was, I'd just kick where the sun don't shine and book it if I need to.

Please don't make me need to. I like it here…

"Jessie?"

I jumped and stood at attention when Mel came back, hearing someone following him. I grinned as if I wasn't just planning a potential escape from a dangerous situation.

Mel smiled back reassuringly, "I'd like you to meet someone very well known around the Warner Brothers studio. He's agreed to act as your mentor as well as introduce you to a few friends of his as needed. Trust me, you'll learn a lot from him, he's been around the block a few times."

"Eeh, Hey Mac. Don't go makin the kid think I'm older than I am."

Jessie felt her jaw slacken at hearing the Brooklyn/Bronx accent. No….way….

There, in the flesh-er-suddo flesh and ink, was Bugs bunny. Munching on a carrot and leaning in the doorway like he was the coolest thing ever. A cartoon character…right I front of me. and he was smirking like he expected how my eyes were popping out of my skull.

My mouth opened but at first no words came out. Well what was I supposed to say? Nice to meet you? Big fan? Oh my god reality is a lie?

I swallowed all of the previous thought and ignored Bug's and Mel's amused looks. I could be professional about this.

"…Sweet." Was what came out of my mouth, and a grin the size of Manhattan

**Hands…hurt…lots! So there's the first chapter. Hope I've caught your interest and I hope you join me for the second chapter. Also feel free to leave me a review and tell me what you think. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2! Thank you for the reviews on just the first chapter you guys, it means a lot. I hope you like the latest chapter, please enjoy. Onward!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Looney Tunes.**

…_Kay...cartoon standing right in front of me...trying not to panic..._

"…sweet"

_Acknowledging this is the probably the coolest thing to ever happen to me…as well as the weirdest._

Not the most original first impression, but at that moment I was just happy something intelligible was coming out of my mouth. As cool as I tried to play it off, I was actually trying to decide if a dream had just come true, or if I was just insane. Bugs Bunny, up until now someone I thought was just a few lines etched don a piece of paper and a few smearing's of paint, was now standing in front of me. Every kid at some point in their life wishes cartoon characters were real, and I was no different. It's just that most kids outgrow that at some point. I didn't. Which is probably why I was here, waiting to be an animation intern.

But not once had I believed it could be true, I entertained the idea for my own shits and giggles more than a few times, but I wouldn't voice it out loud unless iw as with close friends. Trying to justify a way for cartoons to be real was probably a decent ticket to the loony bin. I could probably get away with it when I was a kid, (to a point), but not as a full grown adult. So I had accepted that the closest to bringing cartoons, and my own creations to life, was to be an animator. And now Mel had went and decided to completely throw me for a loop and question my own reality like some kind of socraiatic philosopher.

Guy coulda given me some warning..

Bugs looked bemused still leaning in the doorway and watching the display of emotions running across my face. I was still frozen in place a few feet away. I can only imagine what kind of reaction he was expecting. If I wasn't the only human he had met this way, he had probably been treated to a wide array. Screaming in terror, fangasms, gushing over 'what and honor' it was to meet him, dead faints out of shock…

"What's up doc?" Bugs said smirking. Oh god it wasn't just scripted, he seriously said that…

Fortunately for him (and me) I'm more of a 'deer in the headlights' kind of girl. If I'm met with something I don't expect, I just kinda freeze up and goggle like an idiot for a while until either whatever is causing the effect goes away, or I can work some feeling back into my limbs.

"Mel," I said quietly, "You…uh…you see him too right?"

Mel chuckled and I tried not to be offended. It was a legitimate question. Even if he walked in introducing the rabbit I think I was entitled to being reassured that I was still right in the head.

"Yes, Jessie, I see him. Bugs Bunny, I'd like for you to meet your newest student, Miss Jessica Verillo."

Finally the rabbit stood straight from leaning against the wall and grinned, striding forward and holding out a gloved hand.

"Nice to meet ya' Jess'."

Swallowing my own inhibitions at the entire situation and trying to see how awesome it could potentially be, I copied the gesture. Our hands met and I tried not to jump as I felt his glove on my hand. I'm not sure what I expected, it felt like any other glove, simple white cloth. But I guess knowing he was a cartoon character made me think it would be…squishier, or something.

Oh hell, didn't care. I was shaking hands with Bugs Bunny, and I wasn't dreaming! His glove could be made out of whatever he wanted it to be, I was right. This was singly the coolest thing to ever happen to me.

"Like wise." I said grinning.

Bugs looked pleased and shared a look with Mel. I got this odd feeling I had just passed an unspoken test or something. I would have been creeped out if I wasn't on a cartoon geek induced high at the moment.

I didn't have much time to linger on it anyway. A second later Mel cleared his throat and gestured for me to sit across from him at a desk,

"Well, you'll have plenty of time to get to know each other later," He said before shrugging regretfully, "Unfortunately I have to go through the boring legality and explanation stuff before the fun can start."

I copied his gesture, sitting in a rolling office chair and crossing my legs, "I guess I can allow that this once. I get the feeling I'm about to learn something monumental. Like, I dunno, _cartoons are real_!" I said with a pointed look at Mel for his lack of warning. But a tweak of my lips let him know I wasn't as traumatized as others would be. In actuality I had to resist the urge to look beside me and check if Bugs was still leaning against a desk casually and hadn't disappeared.

Mel gave me a sheepish smile and shrugged again, "Surprise!"

Then he pushed an official looking piece of paper in front of me and pointed to the signature line, "I can't explain anything until you sign here. It explicitly forbids you to repeat any information you are about to hear, will hear, or anything concerning the toons outside of the warner brothers studio gates. Among other things." He waved his hand, "Routine confidentiality contract, kid."

I doubted anything about this was could be considered 'routine'. I glanced over the contract, looking back I probably should have taken the time to read it all the way through. My mentality was 'hey, I'm an intern, how much trouble can I seriously get in?'

Yeah…reading things all the way through. Check that off on things to do for the future.

But seriously, can you blame me? My dreams were essentially coming true, and all I had to do was sign this paper and I could learn so much, and become so much! I knew it was a big decision, and there was no backing out. So I reached behind my ear, where my lucky pen rested. That pen had been given to me by my dad for my sixteenth birthday. It had my name engraved on it and everything, and I used it to get through every single test in high school, and I managed to pass almost every one. Now, to save the ink in it, I only used it for stuff that was really important. Stuff like this.

Mel blinked, halfway through reaching into his pocket for a pen for me to borrow and not expecting me to whip my own out, pulling off the star shaped cap and signing my name with a flourish on the dotted line.

Or at least I would have had Mel not swiftly pulled it out of the way,

"Jessie, I need to warn you, " He said seriously, which was a first since I had met the man, "If you sign your name here, you're opening yourself up to far more than just an internship with a successful animation company. It's an entirely new way of thinking, of living. It may sound overdramatic, but your life _will_ change in your time here. For the better, or worse, is up to your own decisions," He paused to look me straight in the eye, "Do you still want to do it."

I stared back at him just as seriously for a second, searching his eyes for any trace of joking, or even dread. Nothing, guy had a face made of stone when he wanted to. Finally I grinned,

"Just give me the damn paper, Mel."

Thankfully my choice of language didn't seem to offend Mel, he simply laughed, with relief or actual mirth I wasn't sure, and put the paper back in front of me. _Now _I signed my name with a flourish, and I felt a long skinny arm wrap around my shoulders.

"Welcome to Warner brother's, kid." Bugs said, giving me a toothy grin and taking a bite of his carrot. I couldn't keep the smile off my face, but it faltered suddenly when Bugs suddenly got that mischievous glint I had hoped not to be on the receiving end of.

"By the way," He said smirking, "Love the hair, Nyan Cat did a good job."

Instinctively my hand flew up to the half of my hair that had the multicolored streaks in it, and hoped to god I wasn't blushing along with my incredulity. No way did I want the rabbit to look any more smug than he did at the moment. Mel sighed like he knew this moment was coming but wished Bugs had held off for a while.

…It was all gonna go downhill from here, wasn't it?

/

Mel quickly had tried to diffuse the situation after that, grabbing my attention so I could do little more than glare pointedly at Bugs, him looking about as impressed as he did when Daffy glared at him. I had forgotten that unfortunate downside to Bugs. He was friendly, sure, but he did have a bad habit of teasing people and being overly smug about it. I wouldn't be likely to forget it again.

Hopefully he's as fast a learner as I am. Because while I'm fine with light teasing, celebrity or not, don't expect me to pull punches. I've got a sharp tongue and I can cut you to the bone if I'm pissed enough.

The good thing was that Bugs didn't seem keen on actually pissing me off. Just like he was testing the waters, seeing what I can take before diving head long into his usual antics. Just enough to playfully annoy, like a mosquito buzzing somewhere in the room, but not directly into my ear.

Funny, ten minutes ago Bugs had been my hero. Now I was comparing him to a mosquito.

"-And that's how Bug's here came to be, along with all of the other toons we are currently housing on the studio lot. I hope that all made sense Jessie."

I blinked when I heard my name. Oops, I probably should have been paying attention to that. I did catch something called 'the animator' and 'deanimator' and a few names, like 'RJ'(sounds like a cashier at a fast food place..) and 'Jack'. Oh well, I'd worry about that later… (**see Reality Check, by A Scribbler )**

Bugs gave me a look that said 'I know you didn't catch any of that and im gonna hold it over your head for the rest of your life'

When Mel looked away I crossed my eyes mockingly at him. All he did was snicker. Wiseass.

"I'm gonna tell you a secret Jessie," Mel started again and I snorted.

"Another one? Don't I feel special…"

"I guess you got me there," Mel nodded good naturedly, "But this one is a little less ominous. It's about you."

I blanched at how creepy that sounded. And Mel seemed to notice it at the same time as me and he waved his hand,

"Err, let me rephrase that,"

I heard Bugs mutter 'Maroon' under his breath while he chuckled.

"It's about your internship, and why it was accepted. I'm sure Elaine told you that a rookie animator, such as yourself, hasn't been hired for some time at Warner brothers, mostly due to elements that played with the incident I described to you earlier-"

Really wishing I had paid attention to that now…

"-You are the first in over ten years to have even an internship here. But that's not all. You're also one of the first to be trained directly by a toon in over 40years. You see, most animators are trained like most would think, with human tutors. If they climb high enough in the ranks, they are slowly fed clues about the toons actually existing until finally they are exposed to one. By then they are so desensitized they hardly even notice anymore," Mel sighed, "It's very sad. The whole process teaches animation yes, but there's no life to it. There is only so much a human can teach about something that's a completely different way of living. Only a toon can tell you exactly what it means to make one worthwhile. But so many are too old by the time we try and bring them in, they refuse to think outside of their comfort zones anymore. They're happy to sit in their cubicles and draw the same cell over and over again for the same scene."

I wrinkled my nose, not liking the sound of that. I knew that drawing the same cell came with the job, but I didn't want to lose my creativity.

Mel seemed pleased with my disgust at the idea, "My sentiments exactly. Jessie, I recommended you because I saw in you a spark. The others wanted to send you on to Disney, where you would have been 'processed' like all the others-don't look so worried, you're here now aren't you?- but I didn't want that to happen. Your work, it's not perfect by any means, and it needs a lot of work to it. But it's sincere, and honest, and bold. That's what we need here. That's what I want to see."

I slumped a little in my chair, "Wow…no pressure there, heh." I laughed nervously, "But what about me made you see a spark? What makes me so special?" I can't believe I was still referring to it as a spark, what am I, an electrical socket?

Mel smiled, and gestured to Bugs, who preened at the attention jokingly, "Take when you saw Bugs for the first time. You weren't frightened, you didn't have a nervous breakdown, and you didn't inflate his already large head with compliments," Bugs glared at him for the last comment, "That if nothing else is a good sign. The rest, well, it's hard to explain. You'll have to figure it out for yourself along the way."

He stood, reaching into his wallet and pulling out a business card.

"Before I leave you two to your first lesson, here."

I glanced at the card. On it was Mel's full name, as well as his cell number and his email. I glanced at him questioningly and he shrugged.

"Give me a call if you have any questions, or are just desperate for a normal conversation." He gave me a reassuring smile and held his hand out,

"I look forward to seeing what you can do Jessica Verillo," He said sincerely, and I smiled, taking his hand and shaking it firmly,

"You won't regret giving me this chance, Mel. I promise."

We stared at each other for a moment with something I can only describe as camaraderie, he let go of my hand and turned towards the door, but not before saying one last thing,

"Be careful," He muttered, "Have fun, but be careful. There's more to the toon world than just fun and games."

I blanched again, I thought we were done with the ominous stuff…

I heard Bugs clear his throat and managed to catch him gesturing for Mel to stop talking before he froze, grinning broadly and even had a glowing halo appear over his head.

Curious and curiouser...

"Well, I'll leave you to it." Mel said quickly, before giving me one more smile and closing the door behind him.

I was left with the rabbit. Who was now rocking back and forth with mock innocence on his white heels and smiling at me.

"Uh…hi." Wonderful Jessie, you're just full of eloquence today aren't you?

Bugs smirked, "Hiya kiddo. What say you that we chat for a bit, get to know one anotha?"

He sat on and office chair, propping his large feet on one of the desks and laying his arms behind his head.

I was wary, but shrugged, "Keep my hair out of it, and sure."

Bugs snickered and I couldn't help but give a small half smile back. Yeah despite the smug attitude and the offhand comment he seemed like a good guy.

And it turned out he was. He asked me where I was from, about my family, if I had brothers and sisters (he showed me a large overflowing trail of pictures in his wallet of not only brothers and sisters, but aunts and uncles and nieces and nephews, He even pointed out one or two of his mother and father.) We discussed some of the sketches that, unaware to me, had been faxed to him before our meeting. He didn't asked me anything about them in an art critiquing way, like they would at school. Instead he seemed more interested in what personalities they had, their background. Which made sense, seeing as some day one of them could very well end up sharing a conversation with him.

The entire time I was worried I would seem like some overbearing fan, at the same time I didn't want to seem disinterested. I was happy to be there and talking to him, but I didn't want to seem like just another fan. I wanted him…well I wanted him to treat me like Mel. Like a colleague, someone that didn't care if he was human or toon.

He seemed to sense that, and I think I had earned a bit of respect for it, since he didn't make anymore cracks on my rather interesting choice of style. I did however sense a slight amount of patronization when he talked to me, like he knew I wasn't anywhere close to Mel's level and was still just a kid. In his eyes I guess I am a kid, but still, it irritated me.

I'm 20 years old dammit.

"Awfully quiet Jess," Bugs said, startling me out of my thoughts, "Bored of me already?"

"No," I answered honestly, "I just can't think of any questions that you haven't heard before."

It was true. Someone who had been around as long as Bugs, what on earth could I ask him that he hadn't already answered?

Bugs grinned before wiggling an eyebrow at me, "There's one question that I know you're dying to ask, and don't even bother to deny it. So go ahead and come out with it."

…I hated to admit it, but he was right again. There was one question that I had been wanting to ask him since Mel left.

"…Where are the others?" I finally asked, letting it drop into the air like a dead weight.

Bugs finally sat up straight, giving me a sly smile, "Would ya like me to show you?"

I nodded my head a little too fast for my liking and Bugs laughed, before pulling something that looked like a large flat oval from behind his back.

"Where-?"

"Hammerspace kid, something else I'll explain to ya in time." He threw the oval on the ground and it automatically sealed itself, like it had been an actual part of it all along, "for now thought, I will introduce this handy device. A plothole."

Keeping my feet far from the edge, I learned forward so I could peer into the oval. I picked up a stray pencil stub on one of the desks and dropped it in. It fell out of sight and I heard it clatter a few seconds later.

"Plot hole huh?" I said curiously, "Is this what you guys jump through to get away from bad guys in the old cartoons?"

Bugs pulled out a wrestling ring bell and let it 'ding' three times. So I assume I was correct.

"They make an easy way to travel, best done in short distances if you're a first time toon, but for guys like me who've been around a while, we can go essentially anywhere we need to."

I tentatively went a little closer, listening to the wind echo in the hole a bit.

"I'm gonna use it to take you to where the rest of us toons stay around these parts," Bugs said, before glancing at me as I backed up a few paces from the hole, "Now it's normal to be nervous doc, but-"

"CANNONBAAAALLL!"

Just another instance in my life that I probably should have thought through more, but if nothing else, it was worth it to see the brief look of silent surprise on Bug's face as I sprinted past him, jumped and curled inwards. Falling into the hole and quickly being swallowed by the darkness and on my way to who knows where.

/ Bug's POV

The kid was lucky that I had been doing this for a while. I was able to quickly grab another plothole and beat her to where we were going, as well as accommodate the hole so she wouldn't crush her legs with the way she went in.

Still, give her credit, most don't have the courage to step into the plothole without me going first, let alone jump into it like a pool.

I leaned against the brick wall that the plothole lead out of, waiting. I could hear the faint echoes of her 'cannonball' resonate on the walls of the hole before I heard her start to slide down the incline I had made in it before it finally deposited her onto ground outside.

The kid shook her head, blowing her bangs out of her face and looking around her, trying to get her bearings.

I pulled a carrot out of my hammerspace, munching on it casually, "First steps a doozy, huh Jess?"

Jessie shakily got to her feet, and at first I thought I was gonna have to post pone our first 'field trip' when I realized she was laughing.

"That's an understatement!" She said, brushing a few flat looking leaves from her head before turning to me with the most freakin' elated smile I'd ever seen, "I've wanted to do that my whole life!"

I won't lie, that kinda had me reeling. Most people, heck, even Mel had trouble grasping things like the plothole, or the hammerspace at first. But this kid, Jessie, she was taking it all in stride, like it was all completely normal even though she hadn't known it had even existed an hour ago.

Watching her as she finally took a look at her surroundings, I smiled, Genuinely impressed.

This is gonna be a fun one.

/Jessie's POV.

I stumbled to my feet, trying to quell my growing excitement as I looked around me. We were standing by the brick wall of what appeared to be a park, centered in a normal, quiet town. It was still morning back at the studio, and that was no different here. Except the sun had a face and it was yawning sleepily. Actually, despite the building being proportionately correct as wells as the cars and other parts to it, this entire place had a sort of 2d flatness, cartoon like aspect to it.

This was it, this was where the toons lived!

I could feel my face stretching into what my dad would call my 'Million watt smile' as I took it all in. I was living every kids dream right now.

"Here we are Jess," Bugs said, reading my look with a smirk, "Welcome to Toon Town."

"Aw wow" I breathed, trying and failing to take in every detail. My head was almost spinning with excitement. Except..

I wasn't disappointed per say, I was still happy to be seeing it. But there wasn't exactly as mnay…toons as I expected. For Toon Town at least.

Bugs must have seen my thoughtful expression and once again beat me to the punch, "Most of them are still in bed. Unlike you humans, we don't like to rush around in the morning."

"Oh." I said, looking down the street. I could make out a cartoon that looked vaguely like Yogi bear making his way tiredly to his car, coffee in one hand, and briefcase in the other. Now that I looked hard enough I could make out a few other toons, such as a few flowers conversing with a few weeds, and birds chirping a few verses from _Chicago_ to each other. But nothing too mind blowing. Not like that scene where Eddie first comes to Toon Town in _Who Framed Roger Rabbit_. Till now I thought it had been made up, apparently I wasn't completely off on that aspect.

"Something you might want to keep in mind Jess, Toons are people too, even if you guys don't always remember it. We got lives outside of the pictures just like you do. And even if some people wouldn't agree with me, we got just as much rights."

I glanced at him, wide eyed. Was Bugs being treated unfairly?

"I know that," I said quietly, "You were given life to live it, just like me. So why shouldn't you have the right to wake up slowly in the morning. Heck I can't get out of bed without pushing the snooze button at least five times."

The lean rabbit grinned, ruffling my hair so it was messier than usual. I frowned at him and tried to fix it how I liked as he kept talking.

"Glad ya feel that way kid. Keep up that mentality, and you'll get along with pretty much anybody around here."

I sighed, casting another look at the somewhat deserted main street of Toon Town,

"If only anybody was _around_ for me to meet."

Bugs chuckled and patted my shoulder, "Don't worry, you'll meet everyone soon enough. Didn't wanna overwhelm ya on your first day. Just wanted you to get a glimpse of what our lives are like on this side of the lot."

I tried to ignore his condescending tone and instead chose to focus on something else he just let out of the bag.

"We're still on the lot?"

Bug's whiskers twitched when he realized the 'oops' he had made and pinched his lips together.

I rolled my eyes, "Cmon Bugs, I don't even know how to get here besides plothole. But I would have thought, with that kind of thing…I dunno I thought we were in a different dimension or something."

Bugs outright burst out laughing at this, and I didn't appreciate it. It was a legitimate thought, right?

"Kid you watch way too many movies. Yes we're still on Warner Brothers property. If we weren't, we'd be in a whole mess of trouble. Nah, we live our lives here. The studio protects us but at the same time we're a big secret. Make sense?"

"No." I said bluntly, ignoring how Bugs dramatically fell to the ground as a result, "This is getting a little too James Bond for me. How on earth is Warner Brothers able to keep this a secret?"

For the first time since I met him, Bugs looked unsure,

"Can't really say, kid. Not my place. Just stick around and hope you'll get your answers someday."

I 'hmmed' to pacify the rabbit. After all, if what Bugs implied about the toons not being treated with as much rights as humans was true, he couldn't know that much about this whole conspiracy thing.

So for now, I was gonna listen to my tutor. Take the lesson I had learned, and wait for the answers to come to me with time.

**Another long one. Hope it wasn't too boring first meetings are always so awkward, and, you know, I've never really written for Bugs so I'm still trying to get into his mentality of things and still keep him in character. Hopefully I was successful. If I wasn't? Well, tell me what I can do better, just make sure you do it constructively please. Lol **


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the late update guys! Finals week has been murder. But winter break is fast approaching, so I should be able to update much faster than I have been! Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter, it's a bit shorter than the others because Unfortunately that's all I have time for the moment. But at least it's a good opportunity for Bugs and Jessie to get to know one another a little more.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Looney tunes. **

The next two weeks were eventful, to say the least.

Mel had warned me that an internship with warner brothers did not mean sitting around drinking coffee and waiting to run errands. I did that, sure, but I did it in addition to not only coming up with my own project ideas and presenting them to one of the top dogs on the animation board each week, but I had to come up with storyboards for each idea, as well as other exercises that I would get in animation classes back at school. Such as drawing out tween cells (ie, the pictures in between the two main movements in a scene, they're transitions basically). I even had some long term projects that I needed to do, create ten seconds worth of animation to show to Mel every other week based off of the ideas I had presented. But only if the animator I had proposed it to thought it h ad potential. Mel had said that was how it was in the actual field, unless I came up with my own studio and was the head honcho calling the shots.

but I wasn't, so there ya go.

despite how stressful it could get, I didn't actually mind the workload. Have you heard of some of those people who work well in chaotic situations? Yeah, I think I'm one of those. I think I'd go crazier if I didn't have a butt load of work to do. However, never take god's gift of multitasking for granted girls, there are a lot of men out there that would kill for it.

To be honest, the hardest part of the job came in two parts.

Number One, I sucked.

Well, okay, I guess that's being a little hard on myself. Before coming here, I had never had any experience animating other than concept sketches, and a flip book I did when I was in the first grade.

The small logical part of my brain, that went ignored most of the time anyway, told me that inexperience didn't mean I'd never get any better. Mel said I was making progress, and that this time of learning the basic elements and skills was necessary in the long run. It would help me create the big and bold projects I dreamed about making , someday.

For now I was stuck with ten second reels of choppy, shaky lines that would look nothing like how I would picture it in my head or on my storyboard.

It was frustrating, to say the least. So much that i had set my project of the week to the side and contented myself doing the mind numbing job of sketching tween cells for someone else's show. I had no intention of giving up, but I was starting to get nervous that no matter how long I kept at it, I'd just turn into another draftsmen.

That thought made my hand want to move faster, as if pulling out the cells faster would make them better somehow, but If I messed up the line work I would just have to do it over again. So I did my best to keep my nerves, and drawing hand, steady..

I flinched when I felt something brush and pick at the back of my head, and I turned to glare at problem Numero 2.

Bugs Bunny smirked back at me, munching on a carrot and trying to act oh so innocent even though he knew he was being the biggest distraction in the world.

"You know, being my mentor doesn't mean you have to hover around me all the time," I said, narrowing my eyes at the rabbit as he leaned back against a desk, "You could, you know, go home, watch TV, terrorize a certain black duck instead of me."

Bugs snickered, and reached over to ruffle my hair,

"I didn't know you cared, Kid! But nah, hanging out here is a lot more interesting than all that stuff. You know you make the weirdest faces when you're drawing?"

My eyes widened and I nearly slapped a hand over my mouth in embarrassment, it was true, me (and a lot of other animators mind you) tended to copy the expressions the characters had. As if feeling it on my own face would make drawing it easier. It was a rather embarrassing compulsion to have when around someone who wasn't an animator. Particularly someone who wouldn't hesitate to tease me about it, like Bugs.

Not to say that Bugs wasn't a good mentor, I had learned more about toon life and what I should consider when making a toon than I think any animator twice my age has ever. And it was fun. Since my first trip to Toon Town, Bugs had introduced me to a few of his fellow cast mates from Looney Tunes. Porky Pig and Speedy Gonzalez among them. I noted how he seemed to be sticking to the less confrontational toons at the moment. Which was okay I guess, it had been pretty disconcerting to have the tiny mouse zoom around me until coming to a stop on my shoulder just to have a regular conversation with me. And Porky was sweet, though I found myself finishing his sentences for him because I just couldn't deal with waiting for him to finish them himself.

Yeah, half the time he was great.

But then the rest of the time he was a bloody nightmare.

He seemed to make it his life's goal to make doing work as hard as possible, especially if I was putting off my own projects. This meant he would, at annoying intervals, spin my hair in the middle of me drawing so a huge line would go across the page, poke and prod me, or flicking the tiny ponytail at the back of my head or my bangs. I would swat at his hand and attempt to drive him off but he'd just keep coming back, and I would have to drop my pencil just to batting at his hands so they couldn't inflict further torment. Then he'd batt back with that damn smug look on his face and someone almost always walked in on us having what for all the world appeared to be one of those sissy slap fights you see on TV.

"Cut it out!" I snapped, swatting at his hand as it came in to flick my hair again.

Bugs chuckled, "Eesh, Jess, relax! You're working with a toon here, you gotta be prepared for little tricks like these. When you've got your own toons to look after, you'll have a lot more to put up with, believe me. A rabbit that's been around this long knows these things."

I scowled, hardly in the mood for a good natured lecture, "Stupid rabbit, trix are for kids."

"Wrong rabbit kiddo, try again, but I'll give you a hint, it's the best looking grey hare to be animated since the 1930's." He wiggled his shoulder's in mock coyness.

Too easy.

"Oh, sorry _Thumper, _forgive me for not seeing it before." I said, for once giving him a smirk of my own when I saw his somewhat deflated expression. It only lasted a second before the grey rabbit put on a mock scowl.

"Thumper? Thems fighting words, kid."

I snorted and finally turned away from my work. Sure he had succeeded in getting my attention, but for once it looked like this ongoing battle was gonna be in my favor at least for a while.

"What're you gonna do about it cotton tail? Pull my hair like a five year old some more?"

Bugs suddenly smiled and I got that feeling of dread in my stomach again. Suddenly from behind his back he'd produced a rather large balloon, and before I could scramble out of my chair, he'd grabbed me in a head lock and was rubbing the rubber object until my already messy hair stuck up everywhere with static. No matter how much I pulled at his arm he wouldn't budge.

"Call Uncle, kiddo, it will save ya a lot of trouble."

Oh, that was it!

"Never!" I shouted, lunging out of my seat so he'd get dragged down with me. The next thing I knew we were both tumbling around the small animation booth with me doing my darndest to tie his long ears into a knot.

Somewhere at the back of my head I acknowledged that if he really wanted to, he could probably use his toon speed to get out of there and avoid my attempts at bodily harm completely, but he seemed completely content to tussle with me.

It had probably been a long time since he met a human who would fight back.

Fortunately before our little tiff could get much further, there was a familiar ringing sound coming from my laptop. Me and Bugs froze where we were, him with his arm pulled back ready to deliver a pie especially for my face, me yanking on his ears at what must have been painful angles.

I rolled onto my feet and stumbled towards the computer, sending one last glare of warning to Bugs before I answered the skype message. The rabbit looked out of breath but amused, and simply put his hands up in the universal sign of "backing off now, don't worry".

I felt my eye twitch with annoyance when I realized he didn't leave the room like he was supposed to if someone outside of the studio was here or called, he simply moved himself so he isn't in the camera shot.

Nosy rabbit.

I took a deep breath, blew some of my bangs out of my face, and answered the skype call.

My mom's face, cheery and loving as I remembered it, appeared on the screen smiling.

It however faltered when she took in my somewhat haggard appearance,

"Hey mom." I said with a wry smile, grinning and hoping to put her at ease.

"Heya Jessie…sweetheart, what happened to you?"

"Uhh…" I scratched the back of my neck and my head reeled trying to come up with a suitable explanation,

"You aren't getting into fights over there again are you?" She said, looking worried

Yeesh mom, way to bring up the worst subject possible.

"No! No, mom that's not it, I was just messing around with a friend that's all. We get bored sometimes waiting for files to export over here." I said, and I wasn't lying, exporting did take a long time and it was the best excuse to goof off ever.

Mom gave me a searching look, staring at my expression to find any trace of mistruth possible. Apparently satisfied, she smiled.

"Well, I'm glad you're having fun then. What're you doing?"

"Just work, animation stuff that you don't get even if I explain it. Don't tell me any different because it happens every time. You?" I grinned at her playfully incredulous look.

"Smart alec." She muttered before smiling again, "I'm waiting on a visit from your brother, he's bringing the twins over and-"

I heard the doorbell ringing in the background and my mom stood from her seat and the computer, bending to keep talking to me as she did,

"Speak of the devil! Want to say hello?"

"Like I got a choice." I said dryly and she gave me another look.

"Jessica Jane…"

I almost facepalmed right there. Not only did Bugs have dirt on me getting into a couple of fights outside of school, but now he could middle name me too. Thanks a lot Ma…

"Just a joke mom, Let them in, I miss them too."

She gave me a wry smile and went to answer the door. I heard the sound of running feet thundering down the hallway at my mother's house, and the next thing I knew I had a screen full of my niece and nephew.

"Auntie JJ!" They both cooed, and I winced. And the final blow ladies and gentlemen, the dreaded nickname I was blessed with since infancy. I loathed it with a passion.

"Hey squirts! You guys, your old enough to call me auntie Jessie now, so-"

"Auntie JJ! Auntie ,can you see me?" The boy of the pair pushed his sister out of the camera shot and waved, beaming a big tooth-gaped grin.

I sighed, "Yes, Willem, I can see you. I'd like to see Pepper too please, if you don't mind not knocking her into next week."

Willem looked to the side as if just realizing his sister wasn't by his side. He reached down and picked her back up again, even brushing imaginary dust off her shoulders, "Sorry about that Pep!"

Pepper shook the stars out of her eyes, so to speak (poor kid was probably used to it by now) and smiled at me sweetly, waving while clutching her teddy bear in the crook of her other arm.

Pepper and Willem, my big brother Sean's kids (I call them the Sean Spawn XD) were the biggest clichés in the whole 'twins but exact opposite' department. Willem was hyper, a cross between maybe a monkey and a squirrel, and Pepper was shy and sweet. I loved them to pieces, but after just a day of babysitting the two, I was thankful Sean had his own place.

Sean, speaking of which, was looming in the background, tousling his kids hair before poking his face into what little room was left in the screen.

"Hey, is that JJ? Where are you JJ? Hey guys, go bother grandma for a bit okay, I want to talk to auntie JJ alone for a bit okay? Say goodbye _JJ" _Sean gave me a shit eating grin from his side. If I could reach through the screen and strangle him I would, Bugs was snickering quietly in the background, before mumbling

"JJ, huh? I like it. Kinda rolls off the tongue."

I'd have given him the finger, but Sean was looking straight at me. and I didn't want to have to hide his retaliation. That and the rabbit was surprisingly strict about swear words. He said smart kids like me shouldn't have to use 'naughty words' to get my point across. So if I cursed in front of him, he'd often slap me on the back of the head.

Just another perk of working with Bugs bunny, everyone.

Once the twins were out of hearing range, I glared at my big brother for inadvertently putting me at an even bigger disadvantage,

"Listen Dipwad, the munchkins can get away with it cuz they're small. But you cant. Its Jessie, that's it."

Sean shook his head as if it pained him to say what he was going to, "Fraid not, you'll always be little JJ to me, squirt."

I glowered at him but he pointedly ignored it, him and Bugs would probably get along famously if they ever met. Sean had been picking on me since the day of my birth, but he also had my back since that day too. Sure mom had caught me sneaking back in the house with a bloody nose a few times after a bad fight, but usually Sean managed to sneak me in and get me cleaned up before she could. Then he'd go with me to get the kid the next day as a tag team.

Ah the good old days.

I continued to chat for another ten minute or so, my mom coming in and joining in having occupied the twins with something else. Give credit where its due, Bugs didn't once try to interrupt, he would however throw what I was quickly dubbing his 'Troll face' at me if they mentioned something halfways embarrassing. I couldn't wait till I could push the call end button. Not to self, log off of skype when coming to work at the studio.

Finally I said my goodbyes and 'I love you's" and was able to quickly log out of skype and close my laptop. I refused to say the first word. Maybe I'd get lucky and he wouldn't bring it up.

"Well wasn't that an interesting little interlude. They seem nice," Bugs piped up from his spot sitting on the desk surface a ways away, munching on a carrot.

Fat chance of that..

"They are, I miss them." I said warily.

"And those Twins, must be a lot of work huh?"

I couldn't help but laugh fondly at the thought, "Yeah, but they're great even so," I glanced at the clock and groaned, just two hours till I had to leave and catch the bus home and I was still nowhere done with either chunk of work, "but because of that call I'm now even more behind."

I hear Bugs hop off of his perch and come up behind me, leaning over my shoulder to inspect my work even though he knew what I was working on.

"Hmm, you know this isn't due till next week, Jess. You can probably set it aside for what's really important." He gestured to the computer, where my unfinished piece of animation sat like a rotting piece of meat that I would have to clean up at some point but wanted to avoid till the last possible moment.

I bit my lip, "Mm, nah, I've already started this. I'd rather get it done now instead of later."

Bugs gave me a perplexed look, and knocked jokingly on my head, and his toon reflexes made an echoing sound reverberate off the walls of my skull.

"I think you got your priorities mixed up in there kid, too many hours scowlin at the same piece of paper."

Instead of at the same piece of paper I turned my scowl to him, which he ignored as he took a seat next to me.

"Alright Jess, what's eatin ya. When ya first started we could hardly keep ya from frothin at the mouth to use this newfangled stuff, "He gestured to the animation program on the computer, "And now your avoiding it like Daff' avoids a pond around duck season."

I turned my chair away from him, and looked back down at the cell I was working on.

"nothing Bugs, I'm fine. Except for the constant interruptions, im peachy."

I gave the rabbit an exasperated look when he reached out and turned my chair towards him before I could even pick up my pencil again.

"I've been in this business a long time kiddo," He said, giving me a frank look, "You think I can't tell when someone's feelin down on themselves?"

He rested on his hand, propped on the desk next to me, and for once didn't look the least bit mocking, just curious. I suppose he never had to worry about things like self-doubt, or even really about keeping a job. The guy just had to walk in some place and people would be begging him for advertising for their business. Too bad he had to stay in the studio grounds…

But it was becoming clear that Bugs had no intention of letting me get any work done on anything until I talked. So I did. I wasn't happy about it at first, but after a while it became slightly easier. As annoying as he can be, when he actually settled down and showed his friendly side, I found he could actually be a good listener. He would nod along with what I said, and if he got bored and stopped listening and was just humoring me, he didn't show it.

"I don't know.." I finally finished, running a hand through my bangs and brushing them away from my face, "I came from someplace where people told me all the time I was _soo_ talented, and I was gonna go _soo_ far, and now ive got all these expectations to live up to. I don't want to let them down, but I'm just not learning fast enough! I don't know what's wrong.."

Bugs, seeing that I was finished, shrugged nonchalantly, "I can tell ya right now what's wrong."

I couldn't help but feel hopeful, maybe now I could get somewhere, if he told me what was wrong, I could be that much closer to telling the stories I wanted to tell with my art,

"What?"

He gave me a smile, and poked my forehead again, "You're putting waaay too much pressure on yourself."

..That's it? That's not a problem, that's called ambition.

"You're coming in here, never animated before, and your picking up a whole set of skills you've never been exposed to before. It's a lot to take in in just two weeks, and believe it or not, your catching to it a lot faster than most do. And you're the first rookie-"

"In years, I get it." I mumbled, trying not to be embarrassed from the sudden praise I had gotten. I still didn't think I deserved it. I turned my chair away from him again, "I just…I'm just afraid that I've made a mistake, picking this major. What if I peaked before I ever really got started? What if I never get any better?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bugs freeze and I was afraid I had hit the nail on the head with that thought. Then I realized Bugs wasn't actually looking at me, his line of sight actually went to the wall behind me. Even more alarming, the small glint of mischief normally in his eyes was replaced with something rarely seen on Bug's face. Worry, and concern.

It was gone in a split second though, only lasting for half as long, before he turned my chair towards him again so abruptly that my crossed leg fell off the other and I had to grab the arm rests to steady myself. I had been trying to look behind me to see what he was seeing, but he had stopped me before I could. I had caught the slightes flash of something black, like a shadow, move along the wall.

But that was impossible, we were the only two people in here-

"This aint the place for 'what if's' doc," Bugs said seriously, interrupting my thoughts. The fact that he said it in a serious tone was enough to stop the activity in my brain, including all the self-pity, and doubt.

Bugs sighed, as if in relief, before leaning forward, "Look kid, everyone who comes into this field is frustrated, cuz it is slow in the beginning. No one starts out as a Tex Avery, or Walt Disney, heck even Walt's drawings weren't he best in the very beginning, he had almost no training. Have you seen what Mickey looked like way back when? Not a pretty sight." He cleared his throat , "Ahem, that doesn't leave the room though JJ."

I let half my mouth quirk up in a smile, ok, that was funny I'd admit it. And hey, I had learned something knew about Walt Disney, one of my animation heroes. He was a rookie, just like me.

He grinned back, ruffling my hair, "Instead of worrying about 'what if's they took the time they needed to experiment. Imp sure they felt frustrated too, probably due to the toons they were creating," he snickered briefly, "but they kept at it. And now look, Tex, Walt, Chuck Jones, all of those guys. They made history."

I finally smiled for real, "You think I'll be one of them someday?"

Bugs smiled, "I aint saying nothing. Like I said, you got enough riding on those shoulders of yours. But i think if you start enjoying the job for today instead of tomorrow, you'd be surprised by how much progress you make," He winked, "Trust me kiddo, Mel wouldn't have fought for your internship if he didn't see something special, and I wouldn't be standing her talkin you through this if I didn't know you had it in you."

I was embarrassed, but touched all the same. I couldn't help the smile creeping wider on my face, and Bugs noticed it this time as well.

"Is that a smile? Well don't I feel special. Jessie actually bestowed upon me a smile!"

I rolled my eyes and crossed my legs again, "Don't get used to it, Long Ears…but thanks."

Perhaps having Bugs as a mentor wouldn't drive me as insane as I thought.

Bugs smirked and chucked me under the chin, "No problem, it's my job. And I think you'll find I have a way of making smiling contagious, "He grinned, and the mischievousness had returned, "JJ."

By the end of the summer, I was going to be short one older brother, and one mentor. Because I was going to strangle them both.

**Lol, well its late but with as tired as I am that was a really fun chapter. It wasn't even supposed to be this long. Next chapter expect an appearance by another Looney Tunes character! **

**Also I'd like to apologize for any and all spelling or grammatical errors. I do my best to catch them all, but my keyboard likes to add or take away letters at random intervals and I don't always catch them. And my usual beta is as busy as I am with school, so I cant ask her to look over the chapters for me. So unfortunately you just get me, lol. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Again, sorry for the late update. It's finally winter vacation for me, so I should be able to update more often : )**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Looney tunes**

It took every ounce of self-control in me not to grab my flash drive and walk right out the studio doors. At this point, anything would be better than staying here and still be stuck in this prolonged silence, the entire animation board staring at me.

Mel had given me a text about an hour before, saying how instead of the standard single member viewing my work for the week, the entire team wanted to check on my progress.

Now, I wouldn't call myself shy, I could talk and meet new people just fine. But that was still a bit different taking something you put your heart and soul into, knowing it wasn't perfect and that you were still learning, and presenting it in front of professionals who had been doing bigger and better projects for as long as you had been alive.

The piece of animation Bugs had convinced me to finish the week before was supposed to be short, and funny. However, even before I finished it I had my doubts. What I considered funny could be entirely different than what the board found funny.

Heck it was hard to say if they found _anything _funny, cuz with the exception of Mel, who chuckled a little bit (for my sake or legitimate I'm not sure), these people were watching completely stony faced.

I wonder if the presence of bugs had anything to do with it. When he had walked in the room, they had turned to him and a few waved, the younger ones that were probably a little star struck because they had never worked with him up close, and the older members turned tight lipped and barely acknowledged he was there. He simply pulled up one of the giant cushioned seats and propped his large toonish feet on the glossy table surface. Part of me wanted to laugh at how casual he was, when I was close to throwing up out of nerves.

I was surprised that he had followed me to the meeting. He seemed like the type of guy who was busy and would take the welcome break from tutoring me when he could. Instead he chose to stick around.

When I voiced my confusion he simply offered me a snarky grin and ruffled my hair again, saying he wanted to show some moral support for me as I faced the 'doom squad' as he called it. Looking at their Easter Island head impressionistic faces now, I understood completely and appreciated it.

God, what did they want me to do? Throw myself on the floor and chant 'I am not worthy?'. I had already introduced the project modestly, saying it wasn't the best and needed more work and expertise but was alright by me.

Jeez give me a sign, did you like it? Did you not like it? What could I do to make it better, SAY SOMETHING PEOPLE!

Finally, Mel stopped playing the animation over and over again so everyone could drink in every little unprofessional drop of it.

One of the older members, Annie from the looks of her nametag, steepled her fingers and leaned on the desk.

"Well," she said her lips quirking in a smile that didn't quite meet her eyes, "Wasn't that quaint."

Bitch.

I stiffened, my grip tightening on the apolostry of the chair I was standing next to (sitting just made this whole process worse, I had learned that a while ago) and struggled to swallow my own pride.

Breathe Jessie, she's being critical, that's what you want. Its only gonna make you better in the long run. She didn't have to be a bitch about it, but hey, you run into those occasionally.

For my own sake, and knowing my sharp tongue probably hers, I kept my mouth shut and waited, knowing there was more she wanted to say.

"But I'm not really sure what the point is with the tree towards the end. The character is running, and you had a well animated cycle for someone of your age and experience, and you established that they are running from something chasing them. So why add the tree at the end and have them stop short?"

The other animators murmured their agreement, and Mel looked somewhat exasperated.

"The character runs into an overhanging tree limb. I was trying to make it look abrupt….It was supposed to be funny." Nothing killed a joke like explaining the punch line. Bugs seemed to agree with me, because I could see him give the woman a flat look and while out of sight of the other animators, pointed a sign that had a picture of a snail and the word 'slow' under it behind her back.

I pretended to brush at an itch under my nose to cover up a smile.

Annie 'hmmed' with understanding, and jotted a few things down like the others did. I tried to catch Mel's eye so I could determine if it was her and she had missed the general way comedy went in warner brothers cartoons somehow, or if it was…me.

At this point it wouldn't surprise me. As defensive as I was getting with the criticism I knew she was right. The piece was a mess, just like I had thought it was when I was avoiding working on it. The lines were jumpy, the movements were choppy, and my timing was off. But I had felt somewhat better after bugs and Mel had told me that was okay, it showed I was still learning and that it would come with time and practice. But Annie had, in just a few words and less than impressed look swept that reassuring rug out from under me and now I was staring up at her on a cold hard floor of facts.

I was an amateur, and no matter what I did she was not going to be impressed with anything I did. She had seen it all, and the sooner I realized that the better. The sooner I told her I realized that also meant she might stop talking and just let me leave for the day.

"Well...it's far from perfect. I know that,"

Annie nodded her agreement a little too quickly, and the other animators slowly nodded with her, looking at me curiously to see if I had anything else to say.

"Your right…the tree is a bit random and doesn't really fit in with the scene. It had seemed like a good idea at the time but maybe for a separate short…"

Oh, who was I kidding.

"Alright, it's a mess. I'll be the first to admit that." I finally said with a sigh. I knew it was true, I might as well stop beating around the bush and stop being so gosh darn defensive of it. It didn't deserve it.

"I wouldn't say that," Mel piped up immediately, leaning back in his seat and taking a sip of his coffee, "Taking chances like you did with the tree gag takes guts, even for professional animators. Your storyboard and concepts are strong, and the drawing and timing will come with practice. It always does."

Alright, now I was confused. Did they like it, or did they not like it. At this point I wasn't sure what to do, it seemed like Mel wanted me to stand by my work but Annie wanted me to show humility and admit it was rough.

I shrugged off the compliment, not sure how to handle it anyways since I wasn't used to getting them, "I appreciate your saying so. I am still learning, and I can probably spot a hundred thins wrong with the piece but…I learned when I was doing this. That's probably its one saving grace."

Bugs was staring at me with a weird look on his face, arching his eyebrow and tilting his head as if to say 'where's the spitfire Jessie I've come to know?'

She's being downsized by one of the biggest committee of animators at the moment. Please leave a message after the 'Get over it!'

The board jotted a few more things down, and as they gradually gathered their things and made their way to the door, a few cast me a few sympathetic smiles, most, like Annie, completely ignored me and sipped their coffee as they left.

Mel patted my shoulder and smiled at me before he walked out,

"Despite it being rough, I truly enjoyed watching your work. I stand by what I said a few weeks ago, You've got spark kid."

I wasn't really in the mood to hear that. I didn't really feel sparky, you know?

Before I could answer I felt bug's furry arm wrap around my shoulders,

"That's my JJ! Sparkier than a firework on independence day."

I scowled, ever since that fateful call with my brother and I had been unable to get him to stop calling me anything else. I tried to shrug out of his grasp but the guy had a grip like the jaws of life when he wanted to,

"Jessie. Je-ssie! Not JJ!"

"Whateva you say," he smirked knowingly, " JJ."

I wasn't even trying to be discreet about it anymore in front of Mel, who looked like he was trying very hard not to laugh anyway, and was outright pushing at bug's face and face to get him to let go. Damn rabbit wasn't even phased, just looked vaguely amused at my efforts.

"Well then. As fun as this get together has been, as the kids mentor I'd like to take a turn at telling her what I think." Bugs made a shooing motion with his hand and Mel chuckled.

"Fair enough, good to see you again Jess. I look forward to seeing more work in the future."

The man picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder, exiting the room. And that left two.

Bugs hopped so he was sitting cross legged on the table surface, munching on a carrot casually.

"So," He started, arching an eyebrow, "Ya mind telling me what that was all about?"

I had a vague idea of what he was referring to, but I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. I pretended to be oblivious.

"What was what all about?" I said, turning to unplug my flash drive from the projector and putting it in a pocket of my bag.

"C'mon JJ, your rolled over and gave up faster than any dog I've ever seen," He folded his arms and tapped his arm as if irritated, "That's not the JJ I know."

Funny how he already assumed he knew me after just a few weeks. He had a lot to learn.

I gave him another scowl, "They made good points and I was acknowledging that. I'm a beginner, I'm not gonna be perfect and I might as well get used to criticism. There's a difference between being stubborn and being stupidly defensive."

Bugs shrugged, "True, and it's a good habit to practice. But your goin about it wrong." He took another bite of his carrot and waved it at me, "Ya gotta get over that stage fright and learn ta take pride in your work too."

Yet another instance where I wasn't sure if I was just being stubborn or stupidly defensive,

"I wasn't scared!" I said incredulously. All it got me was another knowing look.

"yknow, if ya keep on brushin off compliments like you are, I'd love to see how you react if and when you earn an Oscar."

I froze at the thought….as unlikely as it was, getting up on that stage, on national television. Someone like me….

"I wouldn't be there anyways," I said resolutely, "I'm an animator, not an actor. I'm a behind the scenes person. I'd be watching from my television set at home."

Bugs smirked, "not if you were the director or chief advisor. Which you told me once you'd like to be someday. Then you'll have no choice."

I'll admit it, I hadn't thought of that.

I shrugged, "Can't I just get a stunt double for that or something?"

Bugs snickered, "Fraid it doesn't work like that JJ. And you know it's okay to be nervous,"

He leaned in and whispered behind his hand like he was sharing a big secret, "To tell the truth? My first show I was nervous showing the results too. But you learn ways to deal with it and use it to your advantage."

I rolled my eyes and pushed him away good naturedly, "Look, I just don't wanna get a swelled head on things like this. I'm a beginner, and I'm not gonna pretend to be anything but."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you can't have confidence that you put a good effort into your work."

I was starting to get frustrated with this obtuse rabbit, "Your just said a few days ago that my work isn't gonna be perfect or overlie good, a few days ago that was a good thing!"

It was Bug's turn to roll his eyes, seeing at the same time as I did that we weren't getting anywhere.

"Alright, you know what? I think it's time for another trip to Toon Town."

He jumped off the table and started walking out of the door, "C'mon, I got someone I want you to meet. He might be able to help you out."

I sighed, normally I couldn't wait for Bugs to say something like that. I loved visiting Toon Town, seeing all that seemed impossible happen. But today…

Bugs didn't give me much time to decide for myself, because he grabbed the back of my hood and dragged me into a plot hole.

/

"Alright Bugs, ill bite" I finally asked after crossing yet another busy street in Toon town, "Where the heck are we going?"

As much as I loved this place, it could get tiring nearly being flattened or run over by precariously placed anvils and runaway talking vehicles.

We were heading deeper into the toon side of the lot than we ever had, but I didn't really have the chance to explore. Bugs always had me in his sight and constantly had to yank me with the gag hook out of the way of obstacles, as well as keep my attention on the task at hand.

I winced when he once again hooked me and the curve dug into my ribs, and two seconds later, where I had been watching a dispute between a toon dog and an unhappy fire hydrant.

"Do you think next time we come to Toon Town, I can go off on my own? Cuz your kinda cramping my style. And a few muscles" I said sourly as I rubbed at my side.

Bugs gave me a snide look, "Kid, if you wander around toon town without a seasoned veteran around ya, you'll end up with a lot worse than a few sore spots."

"What, Did we pass a ghetto when I wasn't looking?" I asked flatly, raising an eyebrow at the rabbit and he chuckled. For all I know we could have, bugs wasn't exactly letting me absorb my surroundings.

"No, but as the only human within cannon distance, you're a natural target. And a colorful one at that." He flicked my bangs to prove his point. "I know ya got a whole 'tough guy' image your trying to put off, but it won't get you far in a place like dis."

I shook my head and frowned at him, grumbling under my breath, "Well that's not the least bit condescending…"

Bugs chuckled, "Nah, that wasn't condescending. _This _is condescending."

Next thing I knew the rabbit had done a spin change and was suddenly in a 50's wife garb, hairdo and everything and pinching my cheek,

"What sort of mentor would I be to let little JJ play around in a strange town all by herself! Oh the very thought!" Bug's said in a mock feminine voice, touching a hand to his forehead dramatically by the end. I shoved him away from me, speed walking in the direction we had been. I did my best to avoid the onlookers who had stopped to watch the dispute curiously. (I guess even for toons, a bunny in drag was an interesting sight to see…)

"Cripes, I get it, you made your point! Let's go!"

Bugs simply snickered again and we continued to trek to wherever Bugs was taking us, and I noticed how he had pointedly avoided telling me where we were going, and who we were going to see.

Finally, after another ten minutes, the somewhat crowded area of toon town began to morph in look to more of a suburbs area, and finally I could spot a flat, but still definitely liquid, lake. Next we were walking to the docks towards what was probably once a modest looking water home. Only whoever lived there had done their very best to put as many gaudy looking fountains and pillars around it to make him look more well off than anyone else in the neighborhood.

I knew whose house this was after looking at it for maybe ten seconds. And no, it wasn't just the Daffy duck shaped cherub statue in the fountain either.

"This outta be interesting…" I muttered when Bugs wiggled his eyebrows. I think contrary to popular believe he really does get a kick out of messing with the duck. Even if he lays it off as self defense.

"Yeah, I'm coming, I'm coming! I Sthwear if thisth is about thosth girl scout cookiesth again – I told them before they'd sthell more if they gave out a free trial offer before I decide to buy them!"

The door swung open to reveal the infamous mallard himself, and Bugs took a bemused step back as he leaned out the doorway.

Daffy blinked at the sight of his longtime rival and narrowed his eyes, "Oh great. What do you want, oh smug one."

"I see your as economical as ever Daff, I'd love to see what ya do with the salvation army every Christmas." Bugs said, knowing he was goading the duck and loving every minute of it.

I rolled my eyes and couldn't help but smirk. Annoying people was Bug's prime element. Naturally bug's smug and unimpressed attitude to the duck's quips only got him more worked up, and pretty soon it was like I was watching a live version of the old cartoons they used to do together. For a long time fan of the Looney Tunes, it was intensely cool.

However, after a while, I was starting to feel ignored. I'm not vying for attention or anything (to be honest I was kinda glad someone else got to bicker with the rabbit instead of me)but still, the least he could do was introduce himself, or let me.

I kept waiting for an opportunity to cut in and at least tell him who I am, but every time it seemed like the conversation was going to pause, Daffy would erupt once again. Each time would raise an eyebrow knowingly at me, eyes half lidded in that 'I knew this was going to happen' way he did.

Annoyed and getting bored just standing there, I knew there was one more thing I hadn't tried.

I waited for Daffy to get at his most riled while bugs simply inspected his gloves, until the duck was practically twitching in his own fury. He was screeching at the rabbit for some sort of comment and finally hit his peak when he ross on his webbed toes and flailed his arms about in an effort to get his point across and intimidate the rabbit. When he paused for a breath, I cupped a hand around my mouth and called as loud as I could,

"Wabbit season!"

"Duck season, FIRE!" Daffy had responded purely by instinct, just as his beak spun to the other side of his head at the words on instinct.

I couldn't help it, I lost it, almost doubled over laughing when the mallard turned to glare his beady eyes at me, sending another nasty look at Bugs when the rabbit tried and failed to cover up his own laughter behind his glove.

"And who, pray tell, are you?" He asked haughtily, crossing his arms and tapping his foot at me.

That had my defenses going almost immediately, and I copied his stance, narrowing my eyes but keeping a strained smirk on my face.

"Finally noticed the extra huh? You know if you took the time to observe your surroundings a bit more, that wouldn't happen." I pointed offhandedly at his beak, which still looked a bit crumpled despite nothing hitting it in the first place.

Daffy's eyes went half lidded in quiet annoyance, "Alright, smart aleck junior. Where'd you come from? Last I checked this wasn't 3D land."

"Easy there Daff," Bugs replied, cutting me off once again, "The kid's with me. Studio's decided to get back to its roots when trainin animators. They asked me to be her mentor."

Not to sound infantile, but I was getting really tired of them referring to me as 'kid' and 'junior'. I'm 20 years old dammit.

Daffy's eyes widened with interest, and predictably, his ego started in. again.

"You don't say? Well why wasn't I called in? im twice as capable of teaching kids as you are! What am I chopped liver?! I will not stand here and be belittled like this!" Daffy's habit of expressing himself with his arms and words got the best of him once again, when his hand came up clap his other for emphasis and sent his beak spinning again.

"You don't need us for that." Bugs said smugly.

Aaaand off they went again. I sent Bugs an exasperated look, I hadn't even had the chance to answer his question!

Bugs ignored the duck's ranting and instead was looking at me, like he was waiting for something. To be honest, I think I expected more from myself at this point too.

Normally I didn't go out of my way to annoy or be overly rude to someone, usually I waited until they made the first move, _then _ripped into them like a monkey on a cupcake,

Unless of course they could effect my job. Like Annie, then I was sort of forced to extend my patience to almost unbearable lengths.

But then again…maybe that was wrong. I mean, one negative report and Bugs could have cost me my internship tons of times. But never in the past few weeks, even when I tied his ears in a knot that one time (which he totally deserved, don't you worry) had he done anything of the sort. In fact, he seemed to respect me more that I stood up for myself against his antics. But would Daffy be the same way?

Would Annie?

I pondered for a moment longer before I gave a wry smile, and laughed at myself.

I'd been had.

This wasn't just a pleasantry visit, this was another of his lessons.

Bugs grinned when he saw me come forward, interrupting their one-sided conversation and forced the ducks hand in mine and shook it firmly and briefly.

"Jessica Verillo," Before he could interrupt I reached out and clamped his beak shut, to which his eyes bugged out, "Soon to be the next great Warner Brothers' animator."

I didn't like Daffy much, that much was certain. But he his constant inability to focus on something other than himself (unless made to) helped me realize something.

It wasn't that I need to learn how to accept criticism, I did that every day when I walked in the studio. What I needed to do was learn how to stand by my decisions and know that at the end of the day, people like Daffy and Annie were just that, other people. No less or more important than I was. And while their opinions mattered and I should listen to them, I needed to hear my own as well. If I based everything I did based on what they wanted to see I would never see anything new, or a change for the better.

There was a difference between too much modesty and too much pride. Sure Daffy had more pride than he probably needed, but my constant fear of getting a swelled head made my own modesty somehow morph into something else. And suddenly all of my fight I was known for had gone.

But now it was back, because the good thing with people like Daffy? They have this great thing about their obnoxious personality that makes you want to shake them and make them see you and acknowledge your abilities even though they don't want to, they'd rather be focused on themselves.

And now, with a little silent coaching form my mentor. I was well on my way to doing that.

Daffy languidly shook my hand back and I let go of his beak.

"Charmed," He said, shaking his hand like I had squeezed it too hard, "Awfully full of herself, isn't she?"

Bugs had his infamous troll face on, but he seemed to sense that I had gotten the point of this little adventure.

"Nothin wrong with takin pride in yourself Daff,"

/

"So what have we learned?" Bugs drilled good naturedly on our way back to the studio.

I rolled my eyes, "even though I'm still learning, I should still take pride in the skills I do have, and accept judgment and compliments where they are due."

"Aaaand?" Bugs trilled

"And if someone tries to make me back down, it can be seen as a test of character. I need to stand up for my decisions because each one was deliberate."

"Aaaand?"

I rose an eyebrow at him, "Aannnd…don't let Bugs near you with a gag hook because you wont be able to feel your ribs the next day?"

Bugs chest had puffed out to let out another 'aand' and he deflated slightly, and gave me a mock glare, to which I snickered. He hooked an arm around my neck and gave me a playful noogie,

"C'mon JJ, you know where im going with this."

I sighed, I hated being proven wrong, and I hated admitting to it even more. But on this one occasion, the sting of defeat didn't come so hard as normal.

"My project wasn't a mess, it was good and I'm glad I presented it and pushed myself. I learned a lot, even if they didn't like it as much as I did."

Bugs let me go and ruffled my hair once more, "Good girl."

While I was fixing my hair, bugs rocked back and forth on his heels innocently,

"Oh and, just so's you know.."

I looked up at him curiously, and he gave me a sly look back.

"I took a peek at the rest of the boards notes, Miss Annie was the only one who had anything negative to say. They noted areas that need work, but overall they thought it was 'clever' 'funny' and 'unexpected'," He slapped me on the back, "And you managed to make Daffy's beak spin without any help! You've made me one proud rabbit, in just one day!"

I stared at him, not really sure what to say. There was a retort on my lips, but I wasn't sure to what.

Take the compliment Jessie, just take it.

I swallowed whatever stupid complaint I had for now and smiled, shaking my head,

"You big Sap..thanks." I said fondly, and he chuckled.

**Urgh, you would not believe how difficult this chapter was to write. I just couldn't get into Daffy's character at. All. I hope I managed to keep him in character and still make the story interesting. See you next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Oh goodie! The chapter I've been dying to write since the beginning of the fic! Also I get to try something new, writing not from Jessie's point of view, but From Bug's. Hopefully I'll be able to keep him in character.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Looney Tunes. **

_Bug's Pov_

I'l tell ya something, it never gets old to see the look on the janitors face when I walk through the halls of the studio. You'd think the maroon was a toon with how big his eyes got. Newbies.

Speakin of Newbies, mine seemed to be missing. I'd been hanging out in this joint for nearly half an hour and still no sign of her. JJ liked to be rebellious, but she enjoyed her time here, she wouldn't put it in danger by purposefully being tardy. Not that she was in danger of that, Mel liked the kid and that kept her safe. Truth be told I was getting kinda fond of her too.

I had worked with a good number of animators in my time, but this was my first time working with a dame. Not that there hadn't been plenty in the business, it was just, personally, I had not had the pleasure of working with one. And heck, working with JJ had been the most fun I'd had being a mentor in a long time, even if it tended to be at her expense.

She'd even given one of my famous mannerisms the affectionate name of 'Troll face'. Must be some sort of new slang the kids are saying nowadays, because while I may be modes, I know I'm too cute to resemble anything like a troll.

JJ wasn't just a good artist, she had a good spirit too. She'd go far in this business, so long as nothing put that spirit, or her 'spark' in danger. I knew of a few things that could, but mostly that was just part of growin up, and with some minor guidance she could overcome them on her own.

But there was one particular annoyance that came with being an animator that I was determined to keep as far away from JJ for as long as I could. If all went well, she'd never have to deal with it. She'd had a few close encounters, like back when she was feeling down on herself and I saw it lurking around, lucky for me I managed to distract her long enough to keep her from seein it.

With 'it' ignorance was the closest to bliss you could get. Which is why I kept Mel from warning her about it, which would be a last resort if anything.

I rolled my shoulders, even for a toon, thinking about that thing didn't sit well. It was better not to think about it at all. Unfortunately, I still didn't have a JJ to distract me.

I didn't want to say I was worried, (not too much anyways…) but still-

The door to the animation lab opened suddenly, and I lowered my legs where they were propped on her normal desk and leaned forward curiously. Well this was different

JJ's walk was all wrong, maybe an amateur had messed up her walk cycle (a little animation humor there, pardon me) But all kiddin aside, she didn't look too good.

Normally she walked straight and proud, but today she was slumped over and looked like she was trying her very best to go unnoticed by anything that breathed. There was a pair of large rimmed sunglasses perched on her face, which had a sort of flat pallor to it-cover up?. Her hands stayed jammed in her pants pockets, even when she came to stand in front of me.

I rose an eyebrow at her knowingly. JJ was tryin real hard to hide something from me. The curious part of it is why she thought it would work

She cleared her throat, "So," she started, sounding a little raspy at first before she tried again, "What's on the agenda for today?"

Figuring I'd play along for her sake, I shrugged, getting up so she could move around me and start gathering her supplies.

"Oh you know, usual sketches, little a' this little a' that, an explanation for the shades in doors."

It's a good thing JJ went into a career for animating, because she made a terrible actor. She stiffened when I mentioned the sunglasses and went about her business,

"Just…had a thought last night, about the light box," she said slowly at first, as she got a feel for her story so she seemed to believe it at least, "my eyes start to hurt after looking down at that thing for hours. I thought these would help." She fiddled with the sunglasses but didn't take them off.

Still, she had slipped. Now I could see that her hands, or one of them at least, were covered in a pair of black fingerless gloves.

"Interesting fashion statement JJ," I said offhandedly, and she scowled at the nickname, "Bit early for gloves though. I didn't even know they sold gloves in Sunny California, even half'a'ones." I went to prod the hand but JJ whipped it away and back into her pockets before I could.

"Sale at Hot Topic" she said curtly, "Thought they looked cool."

"that's a matter of opinion if I've ever seen," I muttered then noticed she had turned her back on me.

Oh this isn't over that fast missy,

I used my toon speed to pop up in front of her again, scrutinizing the clumsily applied cover up on her left cheek and forehead.

"Since when do you get dolled up just for a day at the studio?"

She jerked back quickly, ending my inspection and letting her bangs flop over her face. If I wasn't suspicious before I was now, cuz she didn't bother to move them.

"Would you get out of my face already? My acne's acting up, that's all." She snapped, stomping over to her desk and sitting down, pulling out a stack of papers, "Now if your not gonna teach me anything about animation at least stop being a distraction, I've got work to do!"

I shook my head at her stubbornness, and leaned against the desk, putting a hand over her papers so she couldn't ignore me.

"C'mon JJ, tell Bugsie what's up, why dontcha. It'll save us both a lot of trouble."

"Nothings up, okay? Now leave me alone!" she tried to move the papers out from under my hand, but thanks to toon abilities, they wouldn't be moving an inch unless I wanted them to. Which would happen if she's just stop keeping secrets from me.

"You're actin dodgier than I've ever seen ya, kid. You're hidin something from me."

She groaned and turned away, trying her best to keep her face out of my sight, "I'm fine Bugs now drop it!"

"Nope." I said simply, "C'mon JJ, just tell me what happened and we can move past it. I may even be able to help out."

She still wouldn't look at me, and I'll admit it, I was starting to get concerned.

"There's nothing to tell, and it's nothing you gotta help me with either," Her voice got lower, as if she were worried someone else would be listening, "Look, I took care of it okay? It's got nothing to do with the studio and even if I could tell you it'd probably get me fired. So please, just let it go and let me work." She said through gritted teeth.

Now my curiosity was peaked even further, I reached out to turn her chair so she was facing me once again, and she scowled again, and I just new hidden behind those eyes she was glaring at me. So what else was new, I had bigger problems.

"Aw JJ, i thought you'd give me more credit than that. I'm a rabbit not a rat, so go ahead and tell me. At least why you cant look at me eye to eye," I tapped the side of my head to gesture to her sunglasses, then pulled out my secret weapon, only to be used in the most dire of situations.

The kicked puppy dog eyes.

"Don't ya trust me? Your favorite teacher no more?"

JJ tried to act like the rough and tumble girl she was most of the time, but I could tell right away she'd be a sucker for the puppy eyes. Right away she grimaced and her eyebrows furrowed guiltily,

"Don't pull that on me Bugs, come on its not like-Hey!"

While she had been distracted by my puppy dog eyes I had reached out and swiped off her sunglasses, unfortunately she had responded just as fast and ducked her head out of view, raising her arms up to further block my sight.

"Stop it Bugs, give those back!"

"Oh I will, once you stop acting like a crazy idjit and tell me what happened." I responded, trying to gently pull her arms away from her face.

"Nothing happened!"

"that's not what you implied before"

"Darn it, Bugs, its none of your damn business!"

I rose an eyebrow at her, "Number one, language. But I'm willing to let it go this time if you start talking, because Number 2. I'm your mentor, so I'm perfectly in my rights to want to know what my student is getting up to outside of the studio. Particularly if its harmful."

She was still struggling, turning and ducking her head stubbornly whenever I'd try to get a look at her face. "this has nothing to do with animation!"

"Then call it the concern of a friend," I countered, "Please JJ, I'm gonna find out one way or another. So just quit wasting your energy, you already look beat as it is."

"Funny choice of words" she mumbled under her breath. She probably hadn't meant for me to hear it. Long ears, kiddo.

Alright, new tactic time. I let go of her wrists and crossed my arms, tapping my foot irritably, " alright JJ, you win. But you're not getting these back-" I dropped her sunglasses into my hammerspace, "Until I learn what's comin off here. And you wont be able to sneak out of the studio without someone noticing ya like that. I also heard that they had an inspection today in this very lab."

I felt bad trickin the kid like that, but at least it was getting me somewhere. She had tensed up and looked panicked, "An inspection? For what?"

"Dunno, but I would hurry up and make a decision anyways JJ, they'll be here any minute. And I can't very well keep your deep dark secret if they're here to see it for themselves."

My eyebrows rose again when she looked legitimately panicked, racking a hand through her hair but still keeping it down, mumbling to herself,

"Shit, no, they can't see me like this, I'll get fired. I need this internship, why'd there have to be a random inspection today?"

Part of me wanted to have mercy on her, but I stood my ground, "times a ticking JJ."

She sighed, she sounded worn out and exasperated, but I could tell she was worried. Mostly because she jumped about a mile when she heard voices approach from the hallway outside.

"I-If I tell you, will you get me out of here?"

I nodded, "If you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."

She turned towards me, head still lowered, before she bit her lip and slowly raised her eyes to me.

I still didn't have the full story, but at least that explained the sunglasses.

I reached out so I could gently touch her eye, which was already bruising in a shiner of a black eye. It looked like it had hurt.

Injuries were few and far between in toon town, usually if we get hurt enough for it to be acknowledged it heals in almost no time at all. And normally animators aren't the rough and tumble sort like my JJ, so I had sorta forgotten it's a slower, more worrying process than it was for someone like me.

"Anything else you'd like to share with the class, JJ?" I asked softly, inserting a joke because it was purely instinct at this point. I didn't wait for her to answer before I was using the cuff of my glove to wipe off the cover up,

"Bugs don't-"

Too late, I could already see a few angry scratches that ran across her cheek, and one other on her forehead. They weren't bleeding anymore but they were still an angry red, most likely irritated more than they already were from the rushed cover up job.

JJ looked down, scowling but not really angry by the looks of it, more embarrassed and ashamed than anything. She jumped again when she heard someone knock on a door out in the hallway, but fortunately not on ours.

"I'll explain later I promise, just don't let me get caught. Plot hole us outta here or something!"

I was in no position to argue. Most of my work had been dedicated to keeping outta the way of harm, and whenever it did happen, it usually wasn't me. I was a little out of my element here trying to help a kid who looked like road kill. But I knew someone who might have a little more experience in this area than I did.

I nodded again, pulling a pothole out of my hammer space, "Okay JJ. Let's get you to someone who can help clean you up. You can tell me the story when we're there." I arched an eyebrow at her, "And no cannonballs this time. You already look like you were hit with one."

A vaguely annoyed look crossed her face even as she stood up, "I don't need anyone to help me clean up, I can do that myself. It's just that I was already late coming here so I didn't have time to do a good job."

"Uh huh, sure JJ."I said, giving her a smirk to try and lighten the mood, throwing the plothole against the wall so we could both walk through it instead of drop.

The plothole took us to the outside of a barn, on a stereotypical toony looking farm (what'd you expect from toon town?) JJ looked around her, probably trying to guess who I had taken to show her off to now, before she sighed, slumping again and giving me a look that I can only describe as pitiful,

"Look Bugs, I'll still tell you what happened, but can we skip the whole meet and greet today?"

I gave her a knowing look, "What, your telling me you don't want to take advantage of yet another field trip to toon town? C'mon JJ this is gonna be fun, im gonna introduce you to another buddy a'mine!"

She scratched the back of her head, looking uncomfortable, "Cant I meet them when I don't look like the remains of a bad accident?"

"Fraid not." I said simply, looping an arm around her shoulder, being careful not to be too rough of curse, and draggin her to our destination, "but not to worry, as long as you've got a good explanation, I think he'll respect ya all the more for it."

Well, at least that seemed to stump her long enough for me to get to the door.

Knocking on the door of the large chicken hutch (with a somewhat modern taste to it as well, like I said a chicken hutch mixed with a regular house) I waited for what I knew was coming, and smirked when something inside stirred.

"Quit-I say- quit all that knocking I'm comin!" A loud voice boomed through the house.

I snickered when JJ's eyes nearly popped out of her skull. Well, I could only see one truthfully, as she'd let her bangs fall over her injured one in a last ditch effort to hide the damage.

"No…" she whispered, "Bugs no I can't handle that loudmouth to-HI!" She stopped mid-sentence when the door opened.

Standing at his normal (somewhat intimidating) 6 feet stood Foghorn leghorn. He gave her an amused half lidded look and chuckled.

"Hello there young lady-Bugs how-I say- how the heck are ya boy!" He cried jovially, slapping me on the back hard. I nearly stumbled forward, but thankfully some toon reflexes came to my aid and helped me keep my poised stature.

"Not bad Foggy, just came by to introduce the new meat down at the studio, also uh-"

"Ah, so this is-I say- this is the little spitfire you were tellin me about. C'mon over here girl and let me meet ya proper, right that is."

JJ had sort of fallen back when we started talking, looking like she's rather be anywhere than here. I don't think it was specifically Foghorn (well kinda) because she had told me she liked his cartoons just as much as any of the other Looney Tunes. But he could be difficult to listen to when you were already in a mood.

But I had a gut feeling that whatever this was all about, Foghorn would be able to help me get JJ's lesson through her head all the more quicker (his voice alone would hammer it in faster than anything anways)

She turned towards him and offered small hesitant smile, looking like she was bracing herself for what was to come.

"Uh, hey Mr. Leghorn. I'm Jessie Verillo, I-"

"Don't ya- I say- don't ya know anything young lady, what your too proud to shake a man's hand? Ya gotta remember stuff like that girl, its basic manners. Good to know when your in the animation business, ya might be working with bigger- I say- bigger stars than even us one day," Foghorn reached forward, turning Jessie somewhat roughly and I didn't have time to stop him. All I could see was her gritting her teeth as he jostled whatever bruises I couldn't see and grabbed her semi gloved hand. To which she let out a hiss.

That got his attention (no easy task I assure you) and he pulled back, glancing at his feathered hand then here's, which she was cradling to hers.

"didn't know my own strength…" The rooster said quietly, looking a bit taken aback.

I stepped in quickly, "Eh, that's the other thing Doc," I reached over and brushed back JJ's bangs so he could see the shiner, "Seems JJ ran into a a bit of trouble and, well, I knew you did some boxing back in the day."

Foghorn looked vaguely surprised but didn't seem to think it was as big of a deal as I did. Actually he started laughing,

"Looks like you picked yourself a bit of a scrapper, eh rabbit? Alrighty then Missy, come on in side. Lets get you sorted. What happened anyway?"

"I was curious about that myself. I think JJ was just getting around to telling me when we wound up here." I said, sending a knowing look to JJ. She seemed sorta put out that I remembered that part of our deal.

Foghorn sat her down at his kitchen table, taking the time to examine the cuts on her face and the bruising on her eye before going to his freezer and finding a bag of peas, wrapping them in a paper towel and pressing it to the injured skin.

JJ flinched away but Foghorn held her still until she could get used to the feeling so she was able to hold it there instead of him. Then he was pushing a bowl of water towards me,

"Better-I say- better clean up those scrapes before they get infected with whatever gook ya put on them before. I'm gonna go get some supplies. Then I wanna see your knuckles girl, I'm guess you got a few that split under those gloves of yours?"

JJ nodded absently and I wet the washcloth, gently dabbing at the cuts on her face.

"Bugs, you don't have to do that, I can-"

"Hush up ya maroon, you've already gotta hold that ice and you can't see where you'd be dabbin anyways. Now, how about that story?"

JJ gave an exasperated sigh and grumbled to herself for a moment, sulking but grudgingly acknowledging that I was right. She went quiet, and for a moment I thought I was gonna have to pester the answer out of her when she finally spoke up again, quietly.

"I got in a fight…"

"Really? I couldn't tell." I said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow, "Now how about skipping the parts we already know and get to the how and why and where?"

She sighed again, avoiding my eyes and looking embarrassed.

"I went out for lunch with my friends, at the mall. My friend Matt was with us..." her voice got tighter as she went on, like she was trying really hard to keep her emotions in check, "And Matt, well, he's gay. In a real obvious way, I guess you could say he's flamboyant…anyways normally we don't get any trouble when we go out. Either people don't mind or if they do, they don't say anything. But this time, I guess we stumbled on a pair of homophobes territory. Some high-schooler came up to us with his buddies and his girlfriend and started talking hate and picking on Matt," Her eyes darkened and her tone turned even more bitter, "Matt would never hurt anyone. He's like irritatingly happy and sweet all the time. He doesn't deserve that. So I did what I had to, I got in between them and told them to piss off."

She looked at me earnestly though, "But I didn't throw the first punch I swear. That was the guy's crazy girlfriend, that's where I got these," she pointed at the scratches on her face blankly, "I don't think she was expecting me to fight back though. When she was getting up off the floor her boyfriend decided to take a shot at it, then his friends and well-"

"Now see here!" Foghorn bellowed, and we both jumped, turning to see that he had been listening in the doorway with a first aid kit at his side, "Your tellin me a boy put ya in this shape? I know-I say- I know chivalry is dead but that's just shameful!"

I resisted the urge to laugh at JJ's disgruntled face. I wouldn't call Foghorn chauvinistic, far from it, he probably thought the idea of JJ fighting was the most interesting thing in the world. However, he could be a bit old fashioned when it came to how women should be treated, heck I didn't blame him, the boy was lucky didn't catch a name or he'd wake up to 5 feet of angry rabbit with a mallet.

"Wasn't just 'a' boy, had to fight off his friends too…" she grumbled,

"Really?" Foghorn looked impressed for a moment when I gave him a pointed look, we were supposed to be discouraging this….

"Well, nonetheless, Spitfire, what stopped you from just walkin away? Didn't ya-I say- didn't ya ever learn that fighting aint the answer and words can hurt you?"

JJ got that cute little scowl on her face that she liked to think was intimidating, and crossed her arms. "And what, just let them walk all over Matt? let yet another couple of scuzzballs think they can say whatever they want and let the prejudice go unanswered? No. I'm not gonna do that…"

Her shoulders were shaking she was so angry, not at anyone in particular, but more at the situation,

"No….they shouldn't be able to treat people like that….Its wrong."

"We're not saying it isn't," I started, placing a hand on her shoulder, "You are right in that JJ. And good on ya for sticking up for what you thought was right. Most just pass it by cuz they don't wanna rock the boat."

She looked vaguely surprised at my approving tone, distracting her enough for Foghorn to take hold of one of her hands and peel off one of her gloves. I felt my whiskers twitch when I saw her knuckles split and bleeding.

It had been some times since I'd since a human bleed, it wasn't particularly an experience I wanted to repeat.

Foghron didn't look too pleased either, but nonetheless took the washcloth I had been using earlier and dabbed at them,

"Let me-"

"Quiet girl, focus-I say- focus on what Bugs is sayin. A little help here and there never hurt no one."

JJ gave another annoyed growl at being interrupted, again and finally cast a frustrated look at me, "So you're saying it was good that I fought them?"

"didn't say that either." I said shaking my head

"Come on, spitfire, your hearts in the right place but you're fighting with the wrong parts!" Foghorn tapped her head gently, "Use-I say- use that old spark Bug's has told me so much about. There must be a better way to get your message across to a more receptive audience. People- I say- people like the ones you ran into aint gonna change just cuz you beat them up, it's the sad but honest truth. But there strength in numbers young lady, numbers that is…"

JJ gave him a confused look but seemed to be thinking it over.

"Get- I say- get your message out there, but try and do it in a way so neither me, or Bugs has to see this ever again," Foghorn held up her hand, waving it gently to gesture to her freshly bandaged knuckles.

JJ blinked, looking confused, "My hands? Sorry they're kinda attached…"

I rolled my eyes, "Your hands aren't the problem JJ, it's the cut open look that doesn't work for us, or you. Red isn't your color.."

She looked sorta taken aback, and looked down at her hands, with both now bandaged thanks to teamwork on me and Foghorns part.

"Guess it is sorta a hassle to draw with..."she said quietly before she finally cracked a smile, the first I had seen today, "I get what your saying though. And I gotta admit, that sounds a heck of a lot better than spending the next few days sore…"

She looked at me frankly, " I can't promise I'll never get in another fight, you know as well as I do I don't have the best temper…but I can promise that I won't get the studio in trouble because of it and-"

I placed a hand on her head so I could turn it so she was looking straight at her, and I stared at her as serious as I could manage, narrowing my eyes.

"Its not the studio im worried about JJ, it's you. I understand old habits are hard to break but you need to be prepared that if I see you in the studio looking like this I will not be a happy bunny. Understand?"

This all sounded weird, coming from me. Stern wasn't usually my way of operating, and the tone felt foreign compared to my snarky one. It seemed to be foregin to JJ as well, cuz she looked totally lost on how to respond.

I finally smirked and ruffled her hair fondly, "Can't have my favorite student walking around like the bad product of a zombie movie now can i?"

JJ shook her head out of my grasp and grumpily set about the impossible task of smoothing out her already hair, and Foghorn chuckled. She looked somewhat embarrassed but at least she wasn't blocking herself off from what I was tryng to say.

For a miraculous minute, all was quiet in the kitchen of Foghorn leghorn, until he seemed to notice it himself and stood, clapping Jj on the back.

"Welp! Now –I say- now that your all patched up lets have you show me exactly how you fight. If you splittin knuckles something's obviously goin wrong with your form."

"My brother taught me how to fight" JJ said, somewhat affronted.

"Your brother-I say- your brother wasn't a championship boxer for 4 years in a row now was he?" the rooster answered, getting a sly look on his face and leading her out the back door to his backyard. There was a beat up looking punching bag hanging from a tree, "Show me-I say- show me what you've got. Could be that you just have too much know how on the offensive and not enough on the defensive. It'll keep this from happening-" He pointed towards her black eye, then noticed her bandaged fists and turned her towards the house wall, where their shadows were cast in the afternoon sun, "Eh- better stick to shadow boxing for today though, Spitfire."

JJ sighed, a bit chagrined that she had been bullied into this practice session but she at least seemed to approve of his new nickname of 'spitfire' for her.

I smirked, don't worry, you'll always be JJ to me, JJ

Foghorn stood next to me as we watched her shadow box, and I nearly fell over when he nudged me with his shoulder,

"Not used to seeing a mother hen side to you rabbit, this young lady must have hit a soft spot with you."

I dusted off my shoulder with a playful smirk, "She's a good kid, I'll give her that. A bit more trouble than I'm used to thought, and stubborn beyond help. But still a good kid."

Foghorn nodded, watching her for a moment before calling out some advice, then turning back towards me, speaking quietly so she couldn't hear even if she had been listening.

"Does she know about…you know.."

I frowned, way to kill the mood Foggy,

"No. I've managed to keep the subject under wraps so far."

Foghorn, Mmm'ed like he was doubtful of my tactics, "Won't- I say- won't do no good protecting her from the inevitable Bugs. Every animator-heck-every person has to deal with it at some point in their lives. Whether they know exactly what it is or not. Might be better to prepare her-I say- prepare her for what she might have to face eventually."

I scowled, not appreciating his pessimistic outlook on this topic. Sure I knew he was right but that didn't mean I had to like it.

"If I have to then I will," I finally said, "But you know as well as I do that once you know about…'it' it gets harder to avoid than it would be for normal people."

"This girl isn't normal." Blunt and straight to the point, typical Foghorn,

"Heck I know that…but.."

I watched the kid box, looking focused and even a little exhilarated when her form seemed to be getting better with Foghorns coaching, "JJ's got something special. And I don't want that 'thing' takin it away. So if I gotta keep her in the dark for a while more to prevent it, then so be it."

**That seems like a good spot to stop. GAH! So tired! Carpal tunnel sucks, but I am really happy with this chap. The next one will be another fun one, but after that we'll probably start to delve a little farther into the plot, like what is this mysterious 'thing' everyone but Jessie seems to know about. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Cool, twenty reviews! More than I thought id get with this story, im glad people seem to like it so much, heh. Oh by the way, someone asked me in a review if this is a Jessie and Bugs fic, and since I wasn't able to reply in a pm back, I'll make this perfectly clear here just so there's no misunderstandings and Jessie stops barfing in the corner. This is ****NOT**** a Bugsxjessie fic. I mean, yeah, they're close and they're going to become considerably closer but not in a romantic way. If this next chapter doesn't get their relationship across I don't know what will, lol**

**Disclaimer: I do not own looney tunes**

Jessie's POV

These were the moments I think I looked forward to the most in my time as an intern. Besides the times when Bugs decided to stop being a distraction and actually teach me something. Those were great too because the rabbit seriously was a great tutor, patient and when I made a mistake he easily got the ball moving again so I didn't dwell too much on it. He made the job fun, taking me to toon town more often than he probably was supposed to. Sometimes for no reason at all other than the fact he knew I loved it and was fascinated with it. He was always willing to offer reference when I needed help with a particularly wacky expression or scene and when I did get things right, he would celebrate right along with me.

However those times could get busy and loud and more often than not ended in outrageous situations I didn't think myself, as a human, could even get into (for once, after a particularly good storyboard, Bugs decided to let his toon reflexes take over for me and I literally exploded with happiness. Do you know how weird it is to be crawling on the ground looking for your own nose because the explosion got a little too zealous? Very weird.)

As fun as they could be, I also liked the studio when it was like this, mostly empty with the approaching late hour and all the other seasoned animators returning home, leaving me full run of the place in the quiet. I also had full run of the coffee machine, which I planned to take full advantage of. After all, I was going to be here for the next twelve hours working, that thing would become my life line.

So here I was, my feet propped on the desk in front of me and cradling my second cup of steaming coffee in my hands. Really I don't know why this stuff was so addictive, it tasted bitter and horrible. There was something to go on with the smell though, I thought as I inhaled the steam with a smile. My foot nudged a huge stack of papers I needed to render fully and clean up as well as scan, maybe twenty were done before I took my impromptu coffee break.

Quiet, peaceful, all the time in the world. This was a time I'd been dreaming of for weeks…

A sudden flash of light behind me caused me to choke on the dregs I had been about to swallow and I flailed a bit, hastily turning around to see Bugs in a safari get up,

"Here we have the elusive 'night owl', spotted in its natural habitat of anywhere other than bed at extraordinary late hours. It also seems to be par-taking its only known nutritional source, Ethiopian cherry seed juice. Or 'coffee' in layman's terms.'

I scowled, it HAD been a time I'd been dreaming of. Now it was just a nightmare.

"Hey Bugs" I said with a sigh, setting my cup down and wiping my chin where a few droplets had flecked when I chocked.

I know, I just went on and on about how great the guy was when I was acting like he was the last person on earth I wanted to see now. Well, I have my reasons for that.

Ever since that…situation a few weeks ago, where I had shown up to work with a black eye after getting in a fight when out with my friends, Bugs had been acting kinda weird. Not to the point where anyone else would notice, he was still snarky sarcastic casual Bugs around everyone else, including me. But every now and then, something would happen that would alert me of the change in his attitude. At first it was only when I was alone, and god forbid taking a quiet moment, and he'd ask if I was alright and usher me away from wherever I was and cast a look around as if he were looking for something. Somehow it had escalated into a few more instances that weren't so much suspicious as much as they were annoying.

For example, my friend Casey had been teaching me how to skateboard, something I'd been wanting to learn for years. I'd been getting pretty good too, to the point where I might have gotten a little overconfident, and decided to skateboard into work to save me bus fare. It all went pretty smoothly, but I had made the mistake of taking off my helmet once I got close to the studio gates, and rolled all the way to the animation department without it. I honestly didn't see much point in having a helmet when the turf was all flat and I was going at a lazy pace anyway, and there hadn't been any cars around.

Bugs had his arms crossed when I had come in the room, and was tapping his foot in an irritated fashion. At the time I simply rose an eyebrow and ignored it, the guy was my mentor, and even if he didn't want to believe it, I could make my own decisions.

I had underestimated him. My skateboard, along with my helmet had gone missing after that, and the rabbit insisted he had no idea where it could have gone. The smug look on his face said otherwise.

Ordinarily I would have thought he was just messing with me, but his next comment had me thinking.

"Eh, what's so bad about the bus JJ? It's quicker!" and he thought I had missed the 'and safer' part he had muttered under his breath afterwards.

There was no doubting it after that, Bugs had become a lot more protective of me. And there were numerous reasons I wasn't cool with it.

First of all, I could take care of myself. I wouldn't be in college fending for myself all the way across the country from my family if I couldn't. And even when I was there, I was always sort of a loner. Don't get me wrong, my family means the world to me and they've always loved and supported me in whatever way they could. But my parents also believed in giving me my wings, so they didn't hold me and my independent personality back if it got the urge to take flight.

And I soared like a kite, as far as I could, when they split up…

Tying into that was my second reason for resenting the rabbit's sudden need to be my 'guardian angel'. He was trying to hide it, sure, he hadn't come out and said that he was trying to look after and out for me. but it didn't take a genius to figure out that's what he was doing. He was about as subtle as Dad was way back when

Before the divorce, dad was just as protective of me as Bugs was being. Always keeping me close to him in the stores, even after I had turned twelve, saying he was afraid someone would snatch me up. He'd threaten to buy a shotgun if a boy so much as sneezed near me. At the time it was annoying but like every daughter, I couldn't help but secretly think it was sweet and appreciate he was looking out for me no matter how old I got. I think he still felt that way, but since the divorce had him move out and into his own apartment, there was no avoiding it. He wasn't around all the time anymore, he physically couldn't protect me all the time, and it was too much along with the strain of having his marriage fall apart to try. He was drinking and mom would cry all the time. I couldn't count all the times I had to hold them both, or drape a blanket over dad when he had a hangover. Sean was in his own place and trying to raise Pepper and Willem on his own, I couldn't ask him for help.

So I did all that I could, for both of them. I opened up those wings of mine and flew on my own, no matter how many times I crashed. I learned how to take care of myself if I needed to at fifteen years old.

"We can always count on you Jessie," they had said, "no matter what happens you'll always be okay. You'll be brave and strong..."

I swelled with pride each time they pointed this out, but also wilted a little inside knowing that things were going to change forever, and would never go back to the way they were. Now they had both had time to heal so they resembled something like the way they were before. But like I said, never truly the same. Dad especially. Although I had thought he'd been doing better, lately when I called him on skype or talked to him on facebook he wouldn't stay on for very long, seeming listless and still so pale and just…sad. Not himself at all. I was starting to feel ignored and it hurt

So when Bugs, acting so much like dad did back then but wouldn't ever again, It just reminded me of how much I missed him. So I don't think It was totally unreasonable that I was about ready to lash out at Bugs for his behavior.

I'm the strong one, I don't need help. I don't want help. I could take care of myself, and the sooner bucktooth realized that the better for both of us.

Bugs was currently giving my coffee cup a skeptical look, "Don't see why you kids today latch onto this stuff so quick. A cup or two isn't bad every now and then but it'll stunt your growth if you aren't careful JJ"

I grit my teeth at being called a 'kid', again, and painfully tried to feign ignorance and shrugged.

"First of all, I'm 20, my growing was done long ago. Second of all, It gets us through early morning lectures and all night work sessions. It's food for a starving lion for college students."

Bugs arched an eyebrow at me, still with that smug look but with a familiar glint that was both mischievous and stern, "Tonight wouldn't be one of those nights would it JJ?"

I shifted the papers on my desk, channeling with some disdain Annie so I could resemble something businesslike, "Yes, as a matter of fact it is." My voice was calm and cool. He wasn't getting to me, not this time. I was standing my ground if it was the last thing I did.

"I don't know how this trend got started JJ, but I gotta tell ya sleep deprivation aint a good way to go." He leaned on the desk and munched on a carrot, "The work will still be there in the morning, so why not take the rest of the night off and get some shut eye?"

"No thanks. I'm working on this till it's finished. But your welcome to head home if you're tired, I'll be fine here on my own." I said, clicking on the lightbox and blinking when it stung my eyes briefly. Come to think of it my eyes had been stinging as the hour got later, but that was only natural. It didn't change anything.

I could feel Bugs giving me a knowing look, here it comes…

"I'm sure you would be. In the morning, after the standard eight hours."

I could feel my frustration mounting "I'm not getting into this with you Bugs…" I picked up my pen, ready to start work and hoping to tune him out.

No such luck, The rabbit flicked my bangs again and nabbed the piece of paper I was working on and sliding it into a drawer, "Good, I'll walk you home then since you missed the last bus and-"

With a scowl and not bothering to even argue with him, I jerkily pulled out my mp3 player and shoved the ear buds into my ears, turning the volume up to the max and picking up my pencil along with another drawing. No sooner I did then I felt the buds being plucked out and I turned to see Bugs dropping the whole thing into his hammer space with a nod, giving me a half lidded smirk,

"Sandman's acallin' JJ."

I glared at him "Yeah, because that's mature!"

"Just trying to set an example JJ."

"I am mature, okay? I'm a full grown adult that can make her own decisions. Including when or if I go to bed at night, so just drop it and leave me alone. And give me back my music!"

Bugs wasn't phased in the least, "I will, you have my word, in the morning after you hit the hay."

I barely stopped myself from yanking out what was left of my hair and settled for giving him a scowl, and resolutely turning around. I'd keep working, and sooner or later I'd tune him out,

It worked during the biology lectures in science class anyways.

I let out a surprised gasp when I felt the chair spin back around, so I was facing a stern and looking slightly cross Bugs. Should've known the rabbit didn't take kindly to being ignored

"Alright little miss 'I'm an adult' enough with the games. Either you go to bed and get some rest, or I tuck you in like the kid your acting like."

My heart dropped into my shoes, even if no one was around to see that, it would still be embarrassing. "You can NOT be serious, you can't give me an ultimatum, who do you think you are?!"

Bugs rose an eyebrow, again seeming nonplused, "You're mentor. It's my job to make sure my student takes care of herself and stays healthy. It could affect your work otherwise."

That…was a very good point. But I'd die before I admitted it. I crossed my arms stubbornly,

"Being a mentor doesn't mean I have to listen to you without question. I listen to your suggestions but ultimately it's my choice whether or not I follow them." I growled, through playing around as much as he was, "I'm not a kid anymore Bugs, so get off your power trip and back off."

Bugs stood back for a minute, giving me a searching look and I glared right back. Finally he let his lips quirk in a smirk for a moment then was back to looking stern, putting his arms behind his back

"I'll give you till the count of three."

I blanched. He wasn't serious. "You're not serious." I said out loud, trying not to sound as dumbfounded as I was. Normally people gave up and walked off in a huff at this point. They usually got to the point where they decided arguing wasn't worth it anymore cuz I wouldn't budge.

Apparently Bugs enjoyed the challenge.

"One" He held up one gloved finger, chewing on a carrot languidly.

"Bugs, I'm not doing this. I've got work to do."

"Two." He held up two fingers,

Normally, that's when whoever was on the other side of the counting got nervous. 'You're not scaring ME!' I thought, ignoring a slight tingle of unease. I wasn't sure what sort of thing Bugs would or could pull, as a toon

"It's not working Bugs. Give it up and go home."

He rose an eyebrow, a hint of warning in his voice now, "Two and'a half…"

I crossed my arms, planting as much of a poker face on as I could and turned the chair around picking up my pencil again. I wasn't a kid, he couldn't treat me like one and expect me to be impressed. Maybe if he had tried listening to my reasons instead of throwing his mentor title around, I would have been more receptive to listening to his…

"And that's three. I didn't want to have to do this JJ, but enough's enough I'm afraid."

I felt a harsh tug on the back of the chair, and suddenly I was spinning so fast my head lolled. When it finally stopped, I was in a pair of pajamas Bugs had conjured up, the dingus had the nerve to make them foot pajamas!

I didn't have time to express my outrage before he grabbed me by the collar and dragged me backwards through a plothole in the floor, leaving me flailing as I felt weightless for a moment, like I was falling, only to land heavily on my bed back at my college dorm.

How Bugs knew where I lived, I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

Beofr ei could even think to struggle to my feet, Bugs was humming to himself (probably to piss me off more) and made good on his threat of tucking me in. My arms were pinned to my sides shortly and all I could do was glower at the now bane of my existence as he crossed a leg over the other and sat on the edge of my bed, looking satisfied with his work.

"This won't hold me long rabbit, once you leave I'm gonna-"

Bugs examined the tips of his gloves almost like he was bored, " I can always Velcro you in there JJ.."

Oh that was it. It was one thing to voice his concern and be reasonably annoying, it was another to be completely obtuse and suffocating. At this point it didn't matter what I did, Bugs would still treat me like I was just a kid throwing a tantrum cuz I wouldn't get my way.

At a glance, yeah, I could see how that would make sense. But he didn't know my side, now did he?

I surged upwards, letting my own frustration fuel me and was able to get at least my arms free so I could reach behind me and grab my pillow, then swing it around so hard at Bugs that he hovered in the air for a second before dropping to the floor.

"You're insufferable!" I hissed, trying not to yell so I didn't wake up the people downstairs. But at least I had this floor to myself.

Bugs was quiet while he picked himself up, dusting himself off before finally,

"Of course you realize, this means war.."

What happened next I can only describe as a mishmash between me yelling at Bugs, smacking him a good number of times, but also getting smacked a fair few times myself. It seemed like Bugs was half amused, but also looking a bit frustrated himself.

I didn't want to think about it, because that meant admitting there was a method to his madness. But maybe Bugs had his own point he didn't know how to get across.

Sooner or later, we both got tired, and ended up kneeling on the floor a short was from each other. Trying to catch my breath, I looked up at him through my bangs, noticing with no small amount of satisfaction that he was just as out of breath as I was. I put up a good fight.

"What're you-" I gulped panting," What're you doing this to me for anyway Bugs?"

He looked at me and didn't look like he quit had the energy to speak yet, so I kept going while I could.

"I don't need someone watching out for me, I thought you knew that. Its not worth the frustration trying to force it on me either. So just stop, just do us both a favor and stop."

Bugs was dubious at first, he didn't look impressed but at least he seemed to be listening now, "Didn't know having someone care was a crime."

Aw man, don't say it like that, like your all hurt and stuff, that's not fair.

I growled in agitation how once again he was manipulating me with emotions,

"Dammit that's not what I said, is it? I'm not saying you can't care, I'm just saying.."

What was I saying? The more i thought of it, that seemed like what I was saying. All be it in a roundabout way.

Bugs rose an eyebrow at my lack of a response, "What scares you so much that maybe I just think you're a good kid and I wanna make sure you're okay?"

My head snapped up, "I'm not scared!"

I'm not scared of anything! Except maybe censorship, that shit will ruin any show. How dare he even suggest that! Talk about jumping to the most insane conclusion. What did I have to be scared of anyway, I just didn't want him butting into my business, I didn't want him getting too involved, I didn't want to get too close, I didn't-

"Could've fooled me," Bugs interrupted my though process, leaning on one of his noddle like limbs and standing, offering me a hand up, "You're fine when we're both just palling around but as soon as I get too close for comfort you push me away. It's been that way for a while and everyone else you've met has given up before they can break that brick wall you've built all up over yourself."

I reluctantly took his hand and stood, not wasting any time backing away from him and crossing my arms defensivly, I didn't want to admit how what he was saying made a little sense, if it was true at least. I wasn't afraid..

Bugs 0lanted his gloved hands on his hips and gave me a half exasperated half amused look, and shook his head, "Mel couldn't have picked a more stubborn couple of people to pair up together. That's right missy, im not givin up on you. I'm gonna keep chippin away at that wall of yours until I reach the you you're hidin in there, cuz you may find it hard to believe, but I like what a crazy stubborn reckless idgit you are."

He paused, looking at me with a calm fondness that made me think of dad. That look that said 'im only doing this because I love you.' My stomach twisted with unease and how much I wanted to both push him away but also run up and hug him. I hated how much I missed that feeling of being able to depend on someone else, being protected if I ever needed it..

No Jessie, stop that, you don't need this, you don't need him..

But still, I was curious.

My eyes narrowed and I tried not to show him just how confused and conflicted felt, "…Why?"

It didn't take Bugs nearly as long to come up with an answer, he reached out and rushed his knuckels under my chin.

"What can I say? Ive gotten kinda fond of ya kid…"

Okay, that was…sweet. Ill admit it. It was hard to keep the stubborn scowl on my face and I huffed turning away, but I didn't feel any od the indignant fire I had moments ago.

"Im still mad at you, you had no right to drag me out of there, all my work is still all over the place."

Bugs rolled his eyes good naturedly, "Yeah yeah, and im sure you'll tie my ears in a knot for it in the morning."

I sighed, against my wishes, afte our little spat and all this emotional roller coaster stuff, I felt as exhausted as I should at 2 am. Where the hell did those two cups of coffee go?

Bugs ruffled my hair, seeming to read my mind and knowing, once again, he had won at the end. "Bed time for JJ?"

"Don't push your luck…"

"Wouldn't dream of it!" He chuckled raising his hands in mock surrender. I sat on the bed under the covers again, thinking about it for a moment, then tossing a spare pillow at Bugs just as he was bringing a plot hole out of his hammerspace.

He caught it and rose an eyebrow at me.

I huffed again, gesturing towards the spare bed, "Its late, even if you can just plothole home, just park it on there if you want…."

Bugs stared at me for a moment before he took on a high pitched voice and clasped his hands together,

"Oh Goodie! A sleepover!"

"You'll be lucky if I don't smother you in your sleep with that pillow.." I grumbled. Turning over , "turn out the light and go to sleep ya nutjob."

I heard Bugs chuckle and I could feel my eyes relax as the light went out and the harsh glare from the light wasn't beating on them anymore. I really was tired..

I did like that Bugs cared, but there was a line between mentor and friend that I wasn't willing to let him cross. So for now let him think he had won, I was too tired to fight him at that moment.

And between you and me, I think I just wanted, for a few hours at least, to go back to the girl I was. Before the divorce. If you think my parents were the only ones that changed when that happened, your wrong. I knew I pushed people away and I knew why I had to do it.

But that particular night, with only me knowing it truly, I didn't mind pretending. Just this once

**More on jessies back story in later chapters, as well as more plot development in the next one. But I felt like I needed just one more of the sweetness before that. Fluff fluffers..**

**Thanks for reading, leave a review and let me know what you think if you've got the time**


End file.
